The Way It Should Have Been
by Tilla Baley
Summary: An alternate version of the season 7 episodes “Dirty Girls” through “Chosen”. Faith returns to Sunnydale with Willow to help fight The First. Can Buffy and Faith find their way back to being friends and more?
1. Home is Where the Heart is

Story Summary: An alternate version of the season 7 episodes "Dirty Girls" through "Chosen"

**Chapter Summary: **Faith arrives in Sunnydale to learn that things have changed between Buffy and Spike, but is there still room for her in Buffy's heart.

**Author's Note: **As an avid Buffy/Faith fan I had been anticipating their reunion for two seasons and was kinda let down by the way they forgave each other in "Dirty Girls," so I wrote how I thought it should have been. (Hence, the title)

**Disclaimers: **Itall belongs to the master, Joss Whedon

**The Way It Should Have Been**

**Ch. 1 – Home Is Where the Heart Is**

Buffy watched Faith and Spike fight each other for a few moments. She was excited when she heard that Willow was bringing Faith back with her. Even though things had gone wrong between them, she had forgiven Faith a long time ago. She just never got the chance to tell her. As she continued to watch, it surprised her a little that she still enjoyed watching Faith fight. She wanted to reach out and touch her, to hug her, but didn't quite trust herself. She didn't trust Faith either so she did the next best thing, she punched her.

"Sorry Faith, I didn't realize that was you." Buffy said trying to hold in a smile, so it came off as a smirk.

Faith enjoyed feeling Buffy's touch and laughed slightly at the fact that it was by a punch. "It's okay B, lucky you still punch like used to."

They continued to sort things out until a female vampire attacked Faith. Once again Buffy just stood there smiling as she watched Faith fight. And just like the first time Buffy watched her fight, Faith was in need of her stake. "May I?" Faith asked as she reached down for the stake in Buffy's thigh holster. Buffy rolled her eyes and smiled slightly as she felt Faith's hand pat around her leg a few times before grabbing the stake, knowing damn well that the brunette just wanted to cop a feel.

--

After a round of introductions and dodging glares from Dawn and Giles, Faith was in desperate need of a cigarette. She sat at the bottom of the basement stairs and sighed heavily as she heard the loud thud of twenty teenage girls running through the house. There were too many potentials and they were making it impossible for her to get five minutes alone with Buffy. They needed to talk. Faith wanted to apologize.

"Can I bum one of those?" Spike asked from his position on his bed.

Faith smirked and stood, lit her cigarette, then walked over to Spike and handed it to him.

"Why aren't you upstairs with the girls?" He asked taking a drag.

Faith took out another one and lit it as she sat on the table. "I've been in an all girl environment for three years. Kinda had my fill."

"Oh I doubt that." Spike said with a smirk as he took another drag.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Faith said blowing out smoke.

"I'm a vampire, pet. I can smell sexual tension a mile away." He said smirking again.

Faith took another hit and eyed Spike. She blew it out and continued to contemplate whether he could really tell she had feelings for Buffy or was just starting trouble. Even through her stone cold expression, Spike noticed the inner turmoil in Faith's eyes. He laughed slightly as he lifted his foot to put the cigarette out on the soul of his boot.

"Don't worry slayer. You're secret is safe with me, especially from the other one." He said nodding his head up.

Faith looked back toward the stairs then got up to go sit next to Spike on the bed. "Yeah, well it's pointless anyways. Buffy's got a stick too far up her ass to go for the dangerous, rebel type."

"Oh you have been away." Spike said smiling.

"Don't tell me you and B?" Faith said quite surprised.

"Not as of late." Spike said frustrated.

"Ha, good." Faith said with a smirk and a wink.

--

Buffy was fuming as they walked. She wasn't sure what irritated her more, seeing Spike laughing and enjoying Faith's company, or Faith enjoying his. Questions were still burning in her mind about why Faith was here. They had so much unresolved.

"Why did you come back?" Buffy blurted out as she stopped walking and effectively broke the silence.

"Willow said you needed me. I didn't give it a lot of thought." Faith said, a little defensive. She then took a deep breath. "Am I getting that you want me to be not here?"

"No, it's not what I meant. I'm glad you're here." She began to walk again. "I missed you." Buffy added so quietly that if it wasn't for her super slayer hearing Faith wouldn't have heard it.

"You did?" Faith asked surprised.

"Yeah." Buffy said hesitantly.

"But?" Faith asked nudging Buffy with her shoulder.

"Well, things were really good between us before we killed the deputy mayor and then we fought and I put you in a coma." Both girls looked away and let out a desperate sigh. The old wounds were being opened up again and after all these years it still hurt both of them. "Once you woke up, we got into that huge fight over the body swap and the last time I saw you, you had turned yourself in. We never got a chance to talk." Buffy said looking down.

"I've been in the same place for three years B. If talking needed to be done, you knew where to come for it." Faith said shoving her hands in her jacket pockets.

"Maybe, I just didn't know how to say I was sorry." Buffy said sadly still looking down.

"Whoa." Faith said as she came to a halt and dragged Buffy by shoulder to a stop as well. She then lifted Buffy's chin with her hand to make the blonde look at her. "Why would you need to say you're sorry?"

"For turning my back on you. For letting you go through it all alone. For not letting you know that I still cared about you and was willing to be there for you." Buffy said as she let her face fall again.

Faith sighed as she understood what Buffy meant. "Ah B, you know it wouldn't have done any good then." Faith said dropping her hand. "I had to learn how to ask for help by hitting rock bottom and I needed to get to that place all on my own." She grabbed Buffy's hand which caused the older slayer to look up at her. "But I'm here now, willing to help you and asking you for forgiveness."

"Took you long enough." Buffy said with a smile as she leaned in and allowed Faith to gather her in her arms.

"What can I say, I'm slow." Faith said with a small smirk as she lightly kissed the top of Buffy's head. The blonde smiled at the contact and lifted her head to look Faith in the eye. All of the old feelings that they had for each came rushing to the surface. They slowly started to lean in to kiss one another when they heard the rustling sound of The Bringers heading toward the vineyard.

Buffy snapped out of her trance and she her head. "We should head back and tell the others." She said as she began to walk away.

"Yeah." Faith said shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. "Damn It." She whispered as she kicked a small stone before turning and heading after Buffy.

--

Buffy listened to Xander tell the potentials that they needed to trust her. She felt the tears well up in her eyes, and of course, Faith was prepared to ruin the sampy moment. "Damn B, I never knew you were that cool." Faith said smiling widely.

"Well, you always were kinda slow." Buffy said, playing off of their earlier conversation. She leaned into Faith slightly and had to hold back the urge to kiss the younger slayer.

"I'm getting that now." Faith said winking with a smile as she got the joke. They gave each other's hand a light squeeze before walking into the living room to tell everyone that they saw the bringer go to the vineyard.

--

The fight at the Vineyard hit Buffy the hardest. She couldn't believe that she had gotten so many of the girls hurt. Even worse, because of her rash and foolish decision, Xander could no longer see out of his left eye. She dragged herself into her bedroom and shut the door. She began to cry and curled herself into a ball as she laid down on the bed with her back to the door.

She was having such a breakdown that she didn't hear Faith creep in. It wasn't until she felt Faith sit down on the bed that Buffy even realized that someone was in her room. She instinctively went to back hand her intruder as she sat up, only to have Faith catch her by the forearm. Their eyes met and Faith began to gently rub Buffy's forearm as she lowered it back down. Buffy began to cry even harder and without saying a word. Faith gathered the older slayer into her arms and laid them both down.

Faith then put one arm under Buffy's head and wrapped the other one around her tiny waist. "It's ok, B. Let it out." Faith whispered as she kissed the back of Buffy's head. "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

--

Buffy cried a little while longer and once Faith thought she was asleep, she extract herself from around the blonde and stood.

"Where you going?" Buffy asked quietly as she rolled onto her back to look at Faith.

Faith was caught off guard. "Hey." She said with a small smile. "I thought you had fallen asleep so I was going to let you get some rest."

"No, I've been awake." Buffy said as she turned her gaze away from Faith and looked out the window.

"Ok." Faith gently, feeling a little confused and defeated. "Well, I'm going to get some food. You hungry?" She asked.

Buffy just shook her head no without looking at her which made Faith frown a little.

"Ok, well get some rest." Faith said as she gently kissed the top of Buffy's head.

Buffy watched the brunette turn to leave. "Faith?" She said gently.

"Yeah, B?" Faith asked smiling slightly, glad to see that Buffy was looking at her.

"Promise you'll be here in the morning." Buffy pleaded.

Faith looked at her a little surprised. "Buffy, of course I'll be here in the morning. I'm not running away from this fight. Like I said, I'm here for you."

"No, that's not what I meant." Buffy said as she looked away from Faith again and rolled onto her side.

This time Faith walked around to the other end of the bed and squatted down so she could look into Buffy's eyes. She gently moved some of the blonde hair out of her face as she tried to read the older girl's eyes. After a few seconds of staring at each other, Faith knew what Buffy was asking. She couldn't believe it and it took her another second to find her voice. "Yeah B, I promise. I'll be here."

--

Buffy woke to the sun shinning in her face and the feeling of great warmth around her. She opened her eyes slowly as she realized that her wish had come true. Faith had kept her promise to her. It was morning and she was lying wrapped up in younger girl's arms. Buffy turned slowly so she could face Faith. Not that she needed to, she remembered that Faith slept like the dead and that it would take much more movement for the her to wake up.

She continued to stare at the brunette for a few minutes and couldn't believe how great it felt to be in Faith's strong, protective embrace. After everything that had happened in the last four years, the only place she wanted to be was right here in her arms. Something was different in the air between them since Faith had come back to Sunnydale and things had defiantly changed after last night. It was the first time that Buffy knew without a doubt that Faith felt the same way.

Buffy wasn't sure when she started to gently run her finger across Faith's cheek. She noticed how even Faith's features seemed to have changed over the last three years. She no longer looked like a cold, dark, angry teenager. Faith had grown fully into womanhood, from the calmer expression in her eyes to her fuller figure and Buffy decided that she preferred this new look much more. She had gone from that slutty sexy look as a teenager to a flat-out just beautiful woman.

Feeling Faith stir, Buffy suddenly stopped moving her hand and probably looked like a deer caught in headlights. Finally, Faith yawned and opened her eyes. She saw the look on Buffy's face and laughed slightly. "Something wrong, B?" Faith asked and she stretched slightly.

"You tell me." Buffy asked gently, making sure Faith hadn't noticed that she had been molested in her sleep.

Faith looked at Buffy with a raised eyebrow. "This was the promise I was suppose to keep, right?" Faith asked looking at her arm wrapped around Buffy.

Buffy just closed her eyes and shook her head yes.

"Do want me to move?" Faith whispered.

Buffy shook her head no, her eyes still closed tight.

"Then why does it feel like you are ready to leap out of your own skin?" Faith asked gently. "The muscles in your back are wicked tense." She added as she began to rub Buffy's back, while still holding her in her arms.

Buffy moan lightly. "That feels good. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Faith said with a smile.

"And thank you for last night." Buffy said finally opening her eyes.

"For what?" Faith asked, not sure which part of the night she was being thanked for.

Buffy didn't respond. She just smiled and gently brushed her lips against Faith's. It took Faith a second to realize what was happening and by the time she did, Buffy's lips were gone. She blinked and looked at Buffy wondering if that had really happened or if she had imagined it. She noticed a slight blush on Buffy's face.

"Faith, please say something." Buffy said as the blush grew.

"Why did you just do that?" Faith asked a little surprised.

"It felt like the right thing to do." Buffy said sadly as she began to pull out of Faith's arms. She had read Faith's response all wrong so Faith tightened her grip around Buffy which caused her to groan in frustration.

"Faith, just let me go." Buffy begged sounding annoyed.

"No." Faith said firmly.

"Why not?" Buffy asked.

"Because." Faith said firmly as she rubbed Buffy's cheek then gently pulled Buffy's head toward her to give a scorching kiss. Faith then pulled away. "That's why." She said slightly out of breath. "Still want me to let you go?"

"Depends." Buffy said trying to stop her head from spinning.

"On?" Faith asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Why did you do it?" Buffy asked.

Faith shrugged slightly. "Like you said, it felt like the right thing to do."

Buffy hit her lightly on the chest, "Faith, be serious."

"I am." Faith said grabbing onto the hand that had just hit her. "I've wanted to do that for a long time and last night was the first time I realized that maybe you felt the same way."

She looked at Buffy for confirmation as she nodded that she understood. "Anyways, with all the shit that is going down around us, I don't want to waste anymore time. Last night was the best night of my life, B. Holding you in my arms, I have never felt so strong, in here." Faith said tapping on her heart. "I finally felt like a champion."

Buffy just smiled and leaned in to kiss Faith again. She then pulled away but kept her forehead pressed up against the brunette's. "You wanna know a secret? I have never felt as protected as I did last night in your arms."

"Really?" Faith said pulling back slightly to look Buffy in the eye.

"Yes really. With Angel, there was always a hint of danger of sleeping with a vampire, even a souled one. And with Riley, well, even on his best day I could throw him across a room one handed. But you," Buffy smiled as she placed her hand on Faith's cheek. "You are a slayer, a protector of the people. And I know you didn't believe Angel when he said that as a slayer you are a champion, but I'm glad you believe it now. If anything, you are at least my champion."

"And what about Spike?" Faith asked, trying not to sound judgmental.

"Oh." Buffy said in shame. "Faith, I…"

"You don't owe me an explanation B. Just tell me it's over."

"It is. And it has been for a long time."

Faith smiled as leaned to kiss Buffy again. Just as their lips met, they heard the commotion of all of the potentials getting up and starting their day. They sighed heavily and rolled their eyes as they dragged themselves out of bed.

TBC……..


	2. Forgiveness Through Worship

**Chapter Summary**: Buffy and Faith spend the morning in bed discussing the past and their new relationship.

**The Way It Should Have Been**

**Ch. 2 – Forgiveness through Worship**

The slayers made their way downstairs and quickly tried to make themselves bowls of cereal before the rest of the house's occupants beat them to it. As Buffy pulled clean bowls and spoons out of the dishwasher, Faith grabbed the cereal and the milk. They met at the island and smiled at each other as they began to prepare their breakfast.

Every time their fingers touched in the process of passing a spoon or reaching for the milk, they would smile lightly and try to contain the happiness that was flowing between them.

Faith smiled as she remembered them doing this in her early days of Sunnydale when she was crash at Buffy's after a late night of slaying. She took a moment to study Buffy. She was still beautiful but everything that had happened in the last few years had brought a sadness to her face that Faith wished she could make go away.

"You fall asleep standing up?" Buffy asked as she bumped her hip into Faith. The brunette just shook her head no as she smiled and took a bite of cereal.

While the Dawn and the potentials sat in the living room watching a movie and eating breakfast, Buffy and Faith joined Giles in the dinning room. "Good morning, ladies." He said as he sat aside a notebook and took of his glasses. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." they said in unison as they shared a small smile before turning their attention back to Giles. Buffy was the first to refocus. "I mean, we're still kind of banged up but we feel better today."

Faith just nodded as she gave Buffy a small wink. Giles noticed something odd between them but just shook his head lightly, realizing a long time ago that there were just certain things that he would never understand about young women, especially slayers.

"Well," he said clearing his throat and putting his glasses back on, "I had some thoughts about this Caleb. I'm thinking someone like him has got to have a police record of some sort. Maybe we can get some information on him that way."

"Good idea." Faith said in agreement as she another bite of cereal.

"What is?" Willow asked as she entered the dinning room.

"Up for a little wicca recon, Will?" Buffy asked.

"Absolutely." Willow said with a grin as she sat down next to Giles.

"Okay then," Buffy said as she stood then stretched and yawned. He shirt rose slightly, showing the tinniest sliver of skin which instantly made Faith's throat feel dry. "Willow, Giles will fill you in and I will meet you at the hospital later. Right now, I think I need some more rest."

"Yes, perhaps that would be best. Yesterday was quite a day." Giles said as he rose from his seat. "Willow, join me in the kitchen for some tea?"

"Sure." She said as she stood as well. She stopped and placed a comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder. "I'll call when I'm on my way to Xander."

Buffy just smiled and nodded then turned to head toward the stairs. Faith watched her intently out of the corner of her eye, trying not to look like she desperately wanted to follow Buffy back to bed.

As Buffy reached the bottom of stairs she reached behind her for Faith's hand but the younger slayer didn't take it. She spun around in confusion and for the first time she noticed that Faith hadn't followed her. She then peered back around the corner of the wall and caught Faith looking at her out of the corner of her eye before she went back to eating her cereal.

"You coming?" Buffy asked with a hopeful smile.

Faith let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "Yeah." She said with a soft smile. Once they met at the bottom of the stairs, Buffy squeezed Faith hand and smiled before releasing it and walking up the stairs. The smile never left Faith's face.

The interaction was lost on everyone in the living room except for Kennedy who quirked at eyebrow and made a mental note to figure out what was going on between the slayers.

--

Buffy never did get back to sleep. She figured being wrapped in Faith's arms would have the same calming effect it had last night, but here she was an hour later, still awake. She was laying on her side, curled against Faith who was lying on her back with one arm protectively wrapped around her. Buffy's hand lay across Faith's stomach and as she lightly ran her hand back and forth across taunt abdominal muscles, her own stomach lurched when her fingers rolled over the scar that she had put there.

Buffy looked up to make sure Faith was sleeping before she scooted down towards Faith's stomach and gently lifted the wifebeater to reveal the scar. She looked at it for several minutes as she traced her finger around it and relived one of the worst days in her life. As she felt the tears swell up in her eyes, she placed a long kiss on the scar as if hoping that the kiss could erase it from Faith's body and their past. She then put her head down on Faith's stomach and allowed the tears to fall.

"You okay?" Faith asked groggily as she slowly opened her eyes. She could tell that Buffy was crying even though all she could see was the back of her head. When Buffy didn't answer her, she tried again. "B?" Faith asked as she began to gently rub the top of Buffy's head until the older girl shifted to look at her.

"I can't believe I almost killed you." Buffy whispered, the tears still swelling in her eyes.

Faith's face fell. She couldn't stand to see Buffy still feeling so guilty. "B, its okay. I forgave you a long time ago."

"I don't think I ever forgave me." Buffy whispered again as one tear escaped down her cheek which Faith wiped away.

"Then you need to." Faith said as she cupped Buffy's cheek and pulled the other slayer back up toward her and gave her a long kiss. The kiss seemed to calm Buffy's fears slightly and she settled back into her position on the side of Faith's body.

"Are we going to be okay, Faith?" She asked quietly as they entwined their hands and let them fall on Faith's stomach. "We've done so many horrible things to each other."

"I hope so." Faith whispered back as she kissed the top of Buffy's head.

"We need to talk about this." Buffy asked as she craned her neck to look at Faith. "I mean, we were both so angry about everything with the mayor and when you woke up and after the body swap…"

Faith sighed, "Ah B, we've had three years to calm down from that. Are you still angry with me about any of it?"

"No, I was just hurt. I had missed you and I wanted my friend back. Instead, you came at me so angry. I was so worried about you and I searched for you all night. When I first saw you on campus, I just wanted to hug you and tell you how sorry I was." Buffy said quietly.

"I know. And I'm sorry I acted the way I did. It's just…when I woke up, you weren't there. You had moved on and that hurt." Faith said gently.

"I didn't." Buffy protested.

"Come on Buffy, I saw you." Faith said getting a confused look from Buffy. "The night I woke up, I went looking for you at Giles' place. I saw you through the window, kissing beefstick on his meat head." Buffy remembered what Faith was talking about and her face fell as Faith continued, "You looked happy. You had moved on and I knew at that moment that things would never go back to the way they were between us."

"Okay." Buffy said trying to clear her thoughts. "You saw, but you didn't hear. I was worried about you. I wanted to find you and make sure you weren't scared or still hurt. And I didn't want the cops to find you because I was afraid of what would happen to you if they did. I didn't go on a hunt for you, Faith. I went on a rescue mission."

"And when we met on campus?" Faith asked.

"I guess my feelings just played off of yours. You were angry and it made me angry."

Faith was silent for a moment. "I wasn't angry."

"Reeaaally?" Buffy said with a disbelieving smirk.

"I was…" Faith sighed in frustration.

A memory flashed in Buffy's mind.

"_I wake up to find that this blonde chick isn't even dating the guy she was so nuts about before. She's moved on to the first college beefstick she meets. Not only has she forgotten about the love of her life, she's forgotten all about the girl she nearly killed for him."_

Her eyes widened with realization. "You were jealous." Faith said looked away. "When we were arguing on campus, you were more pissed that I was with Riley than about me stabbing you. You thought I forgot about you?" Buffy asked trying to get Faith to look at her, but to no avail.

"I think it just caught me off guard to see you with someone who wasn't Angel." Faith as she stared off, away from Buffy. "I kinda figured the only thing that kept you distant from me was the Angel drama. I wasn't prepared to see you with some random guy cause then that meant that you didn't feel the same way I did."

"Faith, look at me." Buffy said as she sat up on her elbow and cupped Faith's cheek. "I had to keep moving forward but that doesn't mean that I ever moved on from the feelings that I had for you. Even after everything that happened, my feelings for you were still as strong as ever." Faith just nodded in understanding. "And I began to forgive you the moment you turned yourself in." Faith smiled with a raised eyebrow. "I saw you take the steps to becoming the person you used to be, that I knew you could be. I couldn't stay mad at you, especially when I knew part of it was my fault."

Faith shook her head. "B, I made those choices. I chose to stay mad at you and blame you for my downward spiral instead of letting you help me. None of that is your fault."

"I should have told you back then how I felt after the deputy mayor died. Maybe then you wouldn't have felt so alone or have been afraid of letting me in and none of this would have happened."

"Maybe." Faith said nodding her head before looking at Buffy again. "What would you have said to me?"

Buffy smiled sheepishly. "I would have told you that you brought out a feeling in me that I didn't understand. I was attracted to you the first moment I saw you and that attraction built every day. That I cared about you and would do anything for you."

"Ditto B, ditto." Faith said with a half smile.

Buffy smiled back and leaned down to give Faith a long gentle kiss on the lips before laying her head back down on Faith's shoulder. She resumed running her fingers along the brunette's stomach while Faith gently ran her fingers through Buffy's hair. They were quiet for several minutes before Faith spoke again. "You know, there is only one reason I regret turning myself in."

"What's that?" Buffy asked as she closed her eyes.

"I wasn't there to stop you." Faith whispered. Buffy eyes shot open as she knew exactly what she was talking about. She lifted her head again and saw that Faith had tears in her eyes. Faith lifted herself up on her elbow to match Buffy's position. "I never would have let you do it, B."

Buffy wiped the tear that ran down Faith's face before wiping her own. "Yes, you would have because you know it had to be done. Just like we will do whatever it takes against Caleb and The First."

Faith shook her head gently. "That was the worst day of my life. The day that Angel came to tell me you were dead." She said with a look that nearly broke Buffy's heart.

"I know." Buffy whispered as she cupped Faith's cheek. "But being dead and resurrected, and another appending apocalypse has made be realize that life is way too short. We have wasted enough time as it is."

"I agree." Faith said with a short laugh.

"Then lets not." Buffy said with a small smile.

"So everything is forgiven? No more talking about this?" Faith asked.

Buffy shook her head yes. "And for little while, no talking period."

Faith was about to question her when Buffy leaned in and kissed her. The blonde laid back down pulling the brunette with her. Faith followed smoothly and once Buffy was lying against the pillows she moved to kiss the blonde's neck.

Buffy moaned slightly as the powerful sensations that were running through her body. She entwined one hand in Faith's long brown locks while the other hand rested on the small of Faith's back. The brunette continued to trail kisses down the Buffy's chest until her teeth lightly grazed over the nipple that had become apparent from under the shirt.

Faith smiled when Buffy moaned her name then took a bolder step by trailing one hand down between Buffy's legs. She gently started to rub Buffy in the spot that she wanted her the most. Even through her pants, Faith could feel the wetness. Buffy moaned again but then Faith laughed slightly.

"This is not good for my ego." Buffy said sarcastically.

"I have a confession to make." Faith said as she still place kisses across Buffy's chest.

"Well by all means." Buffy said as she forced Faith to look up at her.

"This is not the first time that I've touched you." Faith said with a sly smile. Buffy quirked an eyebrow at her in confusion. "The body swap…I took a bath and…well…I has always wanted to know what you felt like and sounded like…" Buffy looked up at her with a shocked expression on her face, "its kinda embarrassing now." Faith said as she started to look away slightly.

Buffy tried to shake the mental image out of her head before she spoke. "I have a confession too."

"Buffy!" Faith gasped with a fake look of shock on her.

Buffy rolled her eyes and playfully smacked Faith on the butt. "Shut it, that's not what I meant. Get you mind out of my pants."

"Seems like I should have told you that." Faith said with a devilish grin.

Buffy rolled her eyes again and shook her head. "Anyways, one of the watchers spit in my face. I was mad, scared, upset, all of the above and I wrapped my arms around myself," she looked at Faith with a confused look "yourself?" She shook her head, "Whatever. Anyways, I finally knew what it felt like to be wrapped in you arms." Faith smiled slightly. "I liked it." Buffy whispered which made Faith smiled even bigger.

Faith gave Buffy a passionate kiss before she started to trail kisses down her body. She pulled the shirt up slightly to give vigorous attention to the most amazing stomach in the world before she continued to go lower. "You know, I never did get find out how you taste." Faith whispered in her sexy husky voice which only turned Buffy on more.

The blonde laughed slightly as her breath hitched. "Yeah, I would have liked to see you pull that one off."

Faith chuckled a little as well as she moved lower. The wetness was even more apparent through Buffy's path now. Faith leaned in to place a gentle kiss over the cotton barrier which caused Buffy's hips to buck a little.

"Faith," Buffy moan out "Please, I need you."

"I'm right here." Faith whispered as she sat up on her knees to undo the string on Buffy's pants. Just as she begun to pull the pants over Buffy's hips, there was a knock at the door. "Fuck." Faith mumbled as she pulled them back up for Buffy.

Buffy gave her an apologetic look. "Yeah?" She yelled.

"Buffy, Willow called. She's on her way to the hospital." Dawn said through the door.

"Thanks Dawn." Buffy yelled. She waited until she was sure that her sister had walked away from the door before she sat up and gave Faith a passionate kiss. "Hold that thought?" Buffy asked with a devilish smile of her own.

"Oh yeah." Faith said a little out of breath.

TBC…..


	3. Thrown

**Chapter Summary**: As Faith and Buffy grow closer, everyone's fear of Caleb may rip them apart.

**The Way It Should Have Been**

**Ch 3 – Thrown**

Faith and Kennedy were in the kitchen eating out of a bag of potato chips when Amanda, one of the potentials, came through the basement door. Anya's lecturing voice boomed up the stairs after her. "Is Anya's sex life going to be on the test? Because I don't know how much more of that I can listen to." Amanda said as she walked over to the counter.

"Why do you think I came up here." Kennedy said with a wink.

"Whatever, just blow it off. It's all a bunch of bull anyway. Whenever Anya starts talking about her and Xander going at it, I remind her that I got there first and it shuts her right up." Faith said with a victorious smile as popped another potato chip in her mouth. Kennedy gave her smile that Faith couldn't interpret. "Somethin on your mind, kid?"

Kennedy just smirked at her. "Oh, nothing. I just…well, I didn't really think Xander was the one you had a thing for."

Faith eyed her carefully. "He wasn't." She said with a smirk of her own.

"And now?" Kennedy asked intrigued.

"He still isn't. And yes, she still is."

Kennedy just nodded with a smile.

"I'm confused." Amanda said as she left the room.

"Good." Kennedy and Faith said in unison with a shared smile.

Faith eyed Kennedy again, wondering if she really knew as much as thought she did. The young potential gave her a look that said it all. She knew exactly what was going on with the chosen two. "So when exactly did your gaydar do off?" Faith asked as she jumped down from the counter and walked over to place the chip bag in Kennedy's reach.

"Not important." Kennedy said with a smug smirk as she grabbed a chip out of the bag.

"Hmm." Faith said with a small satisfied smirk. "Cause, I knew about you and Red as soon as she started talking about you." She said leaning back on the counter. Kennedy raised an eyebrow in question. "It's a long car ride from L.A."

Kennedy smiled lightly, knowing how her girlfriend liked to babble, especially when she felt the need to break the silence. "Well, I heard stories about you guys from high school. Talk about sexual tension. But my girlfriend is a little dense with the gaydar, so your secret is safe with me."

Faith nodded. "You know, I thought Red would pick up on it first with being in on our history and everything. Besides, I picked up on her and the quite one first."

"You knew about Willow and Tara before Buffy did?" Kennedy look shocked.

Faith walked back over to Kennedy and threw an arm around her shoulder, "Well Ken, its like this. When it comes to feelings for the similar sex, Buffy is always the last to be clued in, even when the feelings are her own."

Kennedy smiled and nodded. "So, before, nothing had been going on?"

"It was heading that way." Faith said shaking her head.

The young potential nodded again. "So it's still kinda new?"

"Yup." Faith said as she removed her arm.

"Us too." Kennedy said quietly.

"I just hope I don't fuck it up." The slayer said trying to smile as she shoved her hands into her jean pockets.

"Me too." Kennedy sighed.

They were torn away from their thoughts when they heard the front door open. "Hey, who's here?" Buffy yelled as she walked through the front door. Faith, Dawn, Kennedy, and Amanda met her in the dinning room. Faith smiled at her and Buffy gently smiled back, wanting nothing more than to hug the other slayer.

Before she could even get a word in edge wise, Dawn bombarded her with questions about Xander. As much as Buffy tried to divert the conversation to the police file that Willow gave her on Caleb, Dawn kept asking about Xander.

Faith's eyes kept shifting between the sisters and she noticed how uncomfortable Buffy looked with the line of questioning. The guilty feeling was spread across her face. Faith finally had enough. "Hey pipsqueak, why don't you go get some of the stuff you already got from Giles?"

Dawn caught the hint. "Yeah, or we can talk about it later." She said as she got up and left the room.

Faith kept waiting for Buffy to look up at her but the blonde never did. Frowning, she began to look through the file that Amanda was holding. Buffy finally broke the silence. "We need to find anything that looks like Caleb, his church, his ring-"

"His ability to render a slayer useless with just one punch." Kennedy interrupted sarcastically.

Buffy looked up at Kennedy with a look of surprise and anger. Faith kept her eye on Buffy as she sat down next to her and waited for her reaction. As Kennedy began to apologize, Buffy stood up and grabbed her coat. "I need to go back to the school and get the rest of my stuff." She said as she slammed the door as she walked out.

"You're kidding me, right?" Faith spat at Kennedy before following Buffy. "Get back down to that lesson." She said as she opened the door.

"What? But you said-" Kennedy objected.

"That's what you get for pissing me off, now GO!" She yelled as she slammed the door and took off down the street. She quickly caught up with her girlfriend and grabbed her hand to pull her to a stop. "Look, screw her. She's just a kid."

"I know." Buffy said looking down.

"Can I walk with ya?" Faith asked.

Buffy finally lifted her head to look at her. "I'd like that." She said with smile.

Faith smiled in return, something she noticed she had been doing a lot lately since returning to Sunnydale. She loved seeing Buffy smile again and she loved being the cause of that happiness. Walking down the street holding Buffy's hand was one of the few times when she truly felt content.

They walked in a comfortable silence the rest of the way, noting how quiet and abandoned the town was becoming. As they approached the high school, Faith whistled. "Wow, Sunny D High got a makeover."

"Yeah, well I kinda blew up the old one." Buffy said shyly.

"I was wondering how that happened." Faith said with a smirk.

Once they were inside, they made their way down the hall. Faith was absent mindedly flipping the open lockers closed as they walked. When Buffy noticed she laughed slightly which made Faith look over at her. "What?" She asked with a half smile.

"Some things never change." Buffy said shaking her head lightly. "I just had this memory of you doing something similar to that back in the day and it made me realize how much you have changed these last few years."

"Good or bad?" Faith asked as she moved away from lockers.

"Oh I don't know," Buffy said sarcastically, "You did look kinda hot in those leather pants you used to always wear. I kinda miss those."

"Oh really?" Faith asked as she raised an eyebrow and gathered Buffy in her arms.

"Absolutely, but I think it's a fair trade. You wear something now that makes you incredibly beautiful."

"And what's that?" Faith asked genuinely curious.

"A smile." Buffy whispered as she leaned in and gave Faith a kiss.

After few seconds they pulled away for air and Faith was the first to find her voice. "Well let's hurry up and get back to house so that smile can be the only thing I'm wearing."

Buffy laughed as she poked Faith in the side and led her down the hall. As Buffy entered the office, Faith stayed behind in the doorway. She watched silently as the blond slowly began to pull things out of her drawers. She noticed a sadness in her girlfriend's eyes and her mind flashed back to all those times she would watch Buffy in class through a window.

Buffy turned when she heard a knocking sound. "Hey girlfriend. Bad time?" Faith said nostalgically as she pushed herself off of the door frame and into the hallway where she blew on the window and drew a heart on the fogged up glass. She then winked at Buffy as she kissed one finger and placed it in the center of the heart.

The memory made Buffy smile as she watched Faith walk into the office. "You always were a flirt." She said as she turned back around and picked up a picture from her desk.

"You know it." Faith said with a cocky grin as she walked up behind Buffy and wrapped her arms around her waist and rested her head on the blonde's shoulder. "You guys look like kids." Faith said as she noticed Buffy was holding a picture of her with Willow and Xander.

"We were." Buffy whispered, the tears beginning to build in her eyes. "There is so much I wish I could take back and do over," she said as her finger traced over the picture, "with them, and with you." She finished as she looked over her shoulder at Faith.

"Me too," Faith said as she tried to smile, "but we can't go back. We can only go forward."

"Together?" Buffy asked as she turned in Faith's arms.

"Together." Faith said as she leaned in and captured Buffy's lips.

The comfort and desperation of the kiss quickly turned into a passion. Faith lifted Buffy up and put her on the desk as the older slayer wrapped her legs around Faith's and pulled her closer. Buffy tangled her fingers in Faith's hair eliciting a soft moan from the brunette. When she pulled a little harder Faith released her lips and began to trail kisses down her neck until she found Buffy's pulse point. She sucked on it lightly causing Buffy to let out a soft moan of her own which caused Faith to smile as well.

When Faith moved the kissing back up Buffy's neck and across her cheek she tasted a salty tear. She pulled away slightly to see tears in the older slayer's eyes. "You five by five, B?" She asked gently.

Buffy looked down at her lap and shook her head 'no' as she wiped away a tear. Faith frowned and sighed lightly before kissing Buffy on the forehead and pulling her into her arms for a tight hug. "Its okay, B. Let out."

At that, Buffy began to cry harder as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist.

"There is just so much…" She whispered into Faith's chest.

"I know B. Like I said, its okay. You are wicked strong all the time for everybody else. It's okay for you to not be every one in a while."

Buffy was about to say something when she heard Caleb speak behind her. "Now looky here. Things don't go your way so here comes the waterworks. Just like a woman."

Faith saw him over Buffy's shoulder and quickly pulled Buffy down from the desk. "Get out of here." She demanded as she pulled Buffy behind placing herself between her girlfriend and Caleb.

"Now, now little girl. Manners." Caleb scolded as he walked toward them. "I do imagine that fire branded tongue has inflamed many of men, as weak as they are."

"You have no idea." Faith said with a cocky smile, showing no signs of fear.

Buffy began to back up and was pulling Faith with her as Caleb continued to rant. Buffy was sure that he just liked to hear himself talk and wouldn't notice their movements. When her back bumped into the filing cabinet she gently tried to open it, knowing that Robin kept weapons in it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were sweet pea. It didn't do much good last time anyway." Caleb said as he noticed was Buffy was trying to do.

"You come near her again and I will end you." Faith said with conviction.

Caleb just smiled at her before he overturned the desk separating them. "Evil will overrun this earth and you two will be a part of that history. Why are you fighting this?"

"I'm from Southie." Faith said as she cracked her knuckles. "I was born this stubborn." She said as she punched Caleb in the face but he just laughed at her then backhanded her in the face, sending her flying across the room.

"Faith!" Buffy yelled in concern for her girlfriend. She looked over to make sure Faith was alright but Caleb quickly grabbed her by the throat.

He picked her up and squeezed. "Relations between two women is a sin, you know. I guess that's just one more lesson I'll have to teach you." He then smiled evilly before throwing Buffy through the window. "I'll see you soon." He said with a smirk before leaving down the hall.

--

"I need some help here!" Faith yelled as she came through the front door with Buffy leaning against her.

Giles, who was sitting at the dinning room table was the first there. "What happen?" He asked as he grabbed ahold of the blonde.

"Caleb came back for seconds" Faith said, her voice full of anger.

Giles' eyes widened. "Oh my god, can he-"

"Still make me see little cartoon birdies, you betcha." Buffy said trying to make light of the situation when saw Dawn and the other potentials were gathering around.

Faith just rolled her eyes. "Help me get her upstairs?" She asked Giles.

"Of course." He said gently.

Once they were upstairs and Buffy was safely put into bed, Faith shooed Giles and the girls out of the room so Buffy could get some rest. "I'm gonna go too." She said quietly. "You need to rest."

Buffy watched her as she turned to walk away. She could see the tension in Faith's shoulders and could feel the anger resonating off of her. "Faith." Buffy said gently. "Faith, please look at me." Faith turned around but didn't say anything. "This isn't your fault." She said in a gentle tone.

"I wasn't strong enough to protect you." Faith said in an even voice.

"I know, and its okay." Buffy said, keeping a gentle tone.

"No, its not." Faith said trying to hold her anger in.

Buffy could see the emotions playing across the younger girl's face. She knew how Faith felt. As strong as they were, sometimes they got beat and it hurt even worse when the beating came at the expense of someone they loved. Knowing that there was no way to talk Faith out of her self-loathing, Buffy just sighed and patted the side of the bed next to her. "Will you hold me until I fall asleep?"

Faith sighed with a small smile. "Sure." She said as she kicked off her shoes and crawled onto the bed. She gathered her girlfriend in her arms and gave her a light kiss on top of the head. "Sleep well, B."

--

Once Faith heard Buffy's soft, gentle snore, she extracted herself from the blonde and headed down stairs to see how the research was going.

"Anything?" She asked Giles as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I just sent Spike and Andrew to go look at a church that might have been Caleb's old place."

"Good," she said with a nod as she looked around at the girls. "Looks like the troops are going stir crazy."

"We need to keep them occupied." Dawn offered.

Faith looked up at the ceiling towards Buffy's sleeping form, then back at Giles. He could tell what she was thinking so he just smiled at her softly. "She doing fine Faith, I'll look after her."

She gave him a small nod. "Okay then, let's go keep the kids occupied."

--

Buffy woke to feeling cold. She reached out for Faith and once she realized that she wasn't lying next to her she sat up. She called out to her but there was no answer. She gently made her way downstairs and was surprised to see the house empty, except for Giles standing by the window.

"How are you feeling?" He asked with a comforting smile.

"I'm okay. It's a good thing Faith was there with me." Buffy said as she sat down at the table.

Giles moved away from the window. "I've been meaning to talk to you about Faith."

Buffy immediately cut him off. "Giles, please don't start on that again. I know you didn't want Willow to bring her back here, but I need her. We need her in the fight. I know she's changed."

Giles held up his hand to stop her tirade. "I know Buffy, truly I do. That's not what I was going to say."

Buffy sighed and relaxed for a moment then remember what she initially had wanted to ask him. "Giles, where's Faith?" She looked around again, "And all the girls."

From the tone in her voice, he knew that Buffy wasn't going to like his answer so he tried to approach it as delicately as he could. "I thought they could use some time off," he said with a guilty look. "She took them to the Bronze."

Buffy couldn't say a word. She just sighed in aggravation as she got up and headed out the door.

--

Buffy watched Faith dancing with some of the girls for a few minutes. As angry as she was that Faith could be so irresponsible, she was as mesmerized as she was in high school. The brunette looked incredibly beautiful in her black wifebeater with a carefree smile on her face.

Buffy's smile quickly faded as saw police officers start to escort Faith outside through a side door. She decided to go out the front and cut them off. By the time she got out there, Faith and the rest of the girls had knocked the cops out.

"Faith! What are you doing?" Buffy yelled.

The surprised look on Faith's face gave way to one of guilt as she saw the sadness in Buffy's eyes. "Just blowing of steam. At least it started that way."

"Girls, go home. I have to talk to Faith for a moment." Once the girls were out of earshot, Buffy began to rip into Faith. "I get knocked out and you go dancing?" Buffy asked sincerely hurt but her voice was full of anger.

"It wasn't like that." Faith pleaded with her.

"What if someone got hurt?" Buffy yelled pointing her finger at Faith.

"The girls are fine!" Faith fired back.

Buffy let out a frustrated breath before saying quietly, "What if you had gotten hurt?"

Faith raised an eyebrow. "Is that what this Rage Buffy is all about?"

"Faith, I need you here. I want you here. I can't do this without you. If you got arrested or worse…" She stopped as the tears began to form in her eyes. "Stop acting like some carefree teenager and start acting like an adult. I need to be able to count on you. I need you to think about what you are doing because it isn't all about you anymore. Your decisions effect me and the rest of the group."

Faith frowned when she noticed that Buffy was about to cry. She quickly gathered the older girl in her arms and kissed the top of her head. "Okay, I'll be more careful."

Buffy let out a sigh of content before pushing back out of Faith's embrace. "We need to get back to the group. I've got an idea of what we need to do next."

--

Faith sat on the front porch and smoked a cigarette. She felt bad that she let Buffy down and was wondering if she truly was capable of being in a relationship. She realized that in order to be a good girlfriend, she had to start putting Buffy's needs before her own.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Robin walked up and took a seat next to her on the wall. They talked shop for a while before the conversation turned toward the day's events. Faith expressed how hard this new way of life was for her. She had never had to care about the well being on anyone but herself and was wondering if she was capable of doing it.

"I guess I just don't know if any of us are ever really capable of changing. I've survived my entire life by being selfish. I'll probably just end up hurting her again."

"She told me about you." Robin said shoving his hands into his coat pocket.

Faith eyed him carefully. "Believe every word." She said as she rubbed out the cigarette.

"I'm not just talking about the bad stuff." He said with a smile. Faith gave him a questioning look so he continued. "I've heard the whole story, from the beginning. She loved you then and she loves you now. Just like I can tell you love her."

"You can tell all that by just meeting someone?" Faith asked.

"No." He said with a small laugh. "Let's just say that we went to dinner on Valentine's Day and were discussing slayer history and she spent most of the night talking about her good memories with you."

Faith couldn't help but smile at his comment.

"Guys." Dawn said sticking her head out the front door, "Buffy's ready."

Robin followed Faith into the house and gave her a knowing smile when she went to stand right next to Buffy.

"I thought of something today after our run in with Caleb." Buffy said addressing the group. "He's not protecting the hellmouth or the seal, he's protecting the vineyard. There's something there we missed last time. We need to go back."

It was quiet for a few moments before Faith spoke. "Whoa, how about we don't." Buffy looked back at her. "B, right now it is way too dangerous. I'm not going back in there and I sure as hell am not letting you or any of the girls go."

"You're not letting me?" Buffy asked defiantly.

Faith sighed, her tone gentler. "You know what I mean."

"Did you come here to fight?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"You know why I came here." Faith said strongly. "And it's exactly why I don't want you to do this."

"People are dying!" Kennedy yelled.

Willow tried to defuse the situation but it only hurt Buffy more when she realized that she didn't believe in her either. "Lately, I question your judgment." The redhead said as she eyed faith which both slayers noticed.

"This is not about her." Buffy said, frustrated.

"That's a little harsh, Red." Faith added, trying to keep her temper in check as she glared at Kennedy for spilling their secret.

"It's nothing personal." Willow cowered slightly.

Faith was about to fire back but Buffy intervened. "Look, I'm the slayer so I'm the leader. I make the tough calls."

"Isn't Faith a slayer?" Kennedy asked.

"What?" Faith asked genuinely surprised. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, that is so not what I meant." She said trying to defuse the situation. "I'm not in-charge chick. I just think B needs to lay down for a little while and rethink this." She turned her attention to Buffy. "I know today scared you and it scared me too, but lets just slow the hell down. You told me that I need to think about what I'm doing, but maybe you need to do the same thing." She turned back toward the group. "I'm not the one you want."

"Maybe we need a vote." Kennedy stated.

"No." Faith said firmly. "I didn't come here to take anything away from B. I came to fight with her side by side." She looked at Buffy with a gentle expression. "But we need all of them to win this B. I don't know if I can lead, but if I can, can you follow."

Buffy gave her a look that said she would follow Faith to the end of the earth but that that wasn't really the point right now. "I just…I know I'm right about this. I just need a little bit more time." She looked around and saw that Faith was the only one who still believed in her. She gave her girlfriend a sad smile. "I can't stay here and watch it all fall apart."

Dawn quietly stood and walked toward her. "Then you can't stay here." She said quietly.

"What?" Buffy and Faith said at the same time.

"Buffy, I love you, but we need to be together on this."

Faith was the first to get in her face. "You got quite a pair on you, Squirt. After all big sis has done for you," she turned toward the group, "for all of you. Are you kidding me?"

Buffy looked like she was ready to cry as she turned and headed out the front door. Faith was right behind her. "Buffy wait, I didn't ask for this." She said as she closed the door to make sure no one could hear them before she reached out to put a comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder.

"Don't…" Buffy said a little coldly. She had her back to Faith so the brunette couldn't see the devastated look on her face. "Don't be afraid to lead them." Buffy said as she turned around to face her. "And please don't do anything that is going to get yourself killed." Buffy added with tears in her eyes.

Faith let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. She smiled lightly and was grateful that Buffy gave a small smile back. "Screw that, I'm coming with you."

Buffy held up her hand lightly. "Faith, you can't." She said smiling lightly again.

"Why the hell not?" Faith asked a little angered. "You said you couldn't do this without me. What the hell makes you think I can do this without you?"

"Because you have to." Buffy said as she closed the distance between. "And because I know you can." She said as she grabbed onto Faith's hand.

Faith sighed in frustration as she kissed Buffy's forehead then leaned hers against the smaller slayer. "Just don't go far, okay." Faith whispered.

"I won't." Buffy whispered back as she put her arms around Faith's neck. Faith quickly drew her arms around Buffy and held her for a moment in a tight embrace.

TBC……


	4. Hard Knock Life

**Chapter Summary**: Faith tries to hold the group together without letting Buffy slip away.

**The Way It Should Have Been**

**Ch 4 – Hard Knock Life**

Faith's head was swimming. She was crammed into the basement with the rest of group trying to figure out their next move. As much as she tried to get her head in the game, she couldn't stop thinking about Buffy and how pissed she was that they had run her off. To make matters Kennedy was becoming pushy again.

"I thought things would be different now but you keep shutting me down." Kennedy said from her position on the floor.

Faith had had enough. She shot out of her chair. "Things are different now because now, I'm your boss and you have already pissed me off by throwing B out, so everybody better stay out of my way for while. But just so you know, here's how things are gonna go down. I'm the leader, which means I go first, I make the rules, and the rest of you follow after me. Is that clear?"

She look around at the girls before she walked over to Kennedy and lifted her up by her sleeve. "And Kennedy, back the hell off and let me do my job, alright?" She said as she let go.

Kennedy continued to glare at her and said nothing so Faith put a finger in her chest and pushed her back slightly. "Don't eye ball Ken, or may just forget that we were becoming friends." This time, Kennedy just shook her head lightly in agreement which Faith was thankful for. She turned her gaze back to the girls. "Okay, let's get to work."

--

Faith knew Spike would take it hard when he found out that they threw Buffy out, but she didn't think he would result to the ultimate low blow. "She has died for you and this is how you thank her?" Spike scolded them.

The comment made Faith fume. She wasn't going to let anyone use Buffy's deaths as a soapbox, especially Spike. "Hey," she said crossing her arms over her chest, "why don't you take it down a notch or two." She began to walk toward him. "The time for speech giving is over bad boy." Hints of the old Faith were resident in her voice.

Spike crossed his arms over his chest as well, slightly amused by Faith's stature. "Is that right?" He asked with an amused smirk.

"That's right." Faith said standing toe to toe with him. "So save your lack of breath."

He smirked again. " Well, alright." He said as he back-handed her.

Faith just smiled at him as she pushed herself off of the counter. "You're pretty sweet on her." She said as she kicked him. "I think it's cute, the way she has you whipped."

"You're one to talk." Spike said as they fought through the dinning room.

"Enough!" Giles yelled as Faith threw Spike over the table.

"I am not whipped." Faith said jumping on him, hitting him repeatedly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, she doesn't fancy you that way." Spike said pushing Faith off of him and leaping up.

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" Faith yelled as she rushed at him, knocking them both to the ground.

Now that he and Faith were in such close proximity, he could smell Buffy on her. He apparently has missed something in the last few days. It amused him slightly to think of the slayers being intimate. He pushed Faith off of him once again and stood. He smirked at the brunette. "Well, well, well, I guess you finally did get a little piece of that, didn't you slayer."

"Shut up!" She yelled walking toward him again.

"Oh come off of it Faith. I've heard your get some, get gone motto. Well, now that you've gotten some, get gone. You've gotten what you've wanted from her."

"That's not all I want from her!" She yelled as she shoved him.

"Yeah, I know." Spike said sarcastically with a wink before pushing her back. "Now, where is she?"

"I said I don't know." Faith said again gritting her teeth.

Spike looked at her for a long moment and realized she was telling the truth. Frustrated, he threw up his hands and left. Faith was left standing in the dinning room with everyone just staring at her. She could see it in their faces that they were trying to wrap their head around what they just heard.

"Fucking great." She mumbled wiping the blood away from her lip.

--

After kidnapping a bringer and hearing Caleb's plans, Faith and Giles made the final preparations for their morning assault. "So tomorrow we fight." She said trying to quiet her nerves.

"Tomorrow then." Giles said as he began to walk toward the door. Faith was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice he was leaving until he spoke again. "Faith," He said quietly. She shook her head and focused in on him again, "I know you miss her."

She scoffed slightly. "You have no idea." They shared a smile before she continued. "We were going to tell everyone once this-"

He held up his hand to stop her. "Faith, its alright. I have always known how you two have felt about each other." A silence fell between them as Faith had an surprised look on her face. He gave her a gentle laugh. "That's the thing about being a watcher, I see more than people think I do." Faith nodded in understanding. "She has missed you these last few years."

"I know, I missed her too." She said quietly. "We are still trying to work through everything that happened."

"She felt terrible about having to hurt you that night. I know that for sure."

"I know." Faith said quickly. "I saw the look in her eyes. I know it hurt her more than it hurt me." Faith's face fell as all of the emotions from the last day caught up with her.

Giles cleared his throat to change topics. "You know, I couldn't say it down there, but, you need each other in this. It's the only way it is going to work. The two of you together are an unstoppable force. At some point, you need to bring Buffy back."

"Yeah." Faith said discouraged, with a far-off look in her eyes.

"Well, goodnight then."

"Night, Giles."

--

Buffy easily found a house to stay in, since everyone was leaving town. She laid down and started to cry wishing Faith was there with her. She closed her eyes and thought of the younger slayer and waited for sleep to take her. However, the peacefulness was short-lived as she heard someone walking up the stairs. She didn't need to look up to know who it was. There were only two vampires in the world that made her slayer instincts kick in without setting off the alarm to kick ass.

"Hey." She said sadly, looking toward the door.

"Hey." Spike said in return as he leaned against the door frame. "You were right, you know? About Caleb hiding something."

"Doesn't matter now." Buffy whispered as she looked away from him.

Spike just shook his head in anger. "I still can't believe it. That bitch-"

"This isn't Faith's fault." Buffy interrupted. Spike looked at her, truly surprised. "She was the only one that still believed in me."

--

Faith was a little freaked out. The mayor, the same mayor who died years ago was standing there talking to her as if there was nothing weird about it. She knew that it wasn't really him, that it was The First, but it still felt very strange. There was one thing those two had in common, they both wanted Faith to turn on Buffy by planting doubt in her mind.

"Why are you protecting her? Do you think she actually cares about you? She tried to kill you, Faith." The First said.

"It's different now." Faith said trying hard to find conviction in her own words.

"No matter what you do, Buffy will never completely trust you, never truly love you. She will always think of you as a killer. Not as a lover and not as her forever." He said with certainty.

"You're wrong. She loves me, I can feel it." Faith said getting angry.

"Well, we will just have to wait and see." The First said with a smile. "But remember, I will always love you my little firecracker." Then he was gone.

Faith shook her head as she grabbed her jacket off the bed and headed toward the window. "Fuck this. That psycho can't be the only person on this planet that loves me."

Once she hit the sidewalk, she closed her eyes, hoping to feel a slayer connection that could lead her to Buffy.

--

"You hit Faith?" Buffy asked, seriously surprised by Spike's statement.

"Oh just say the word and she's a footnote in history. I'll make it look like a painful accident." Spike said, completely misreading Buffy's interest in his statement.

"Give it you're best shot, blondie." Faith said from the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. She smiled confidently at him as she gave Buffy a slight wink.

"Get out." Spike growled.

"Easy sparky or I'll light you up again." Faith said pushing off of the doorframe. "I just want to talk." She said holding her hands up slightly showing she wasn't carrying a weapon.

"Faith, I mean it, stay away from her." Spike said as he stood.

Faith just looked right past him and at Buffy. "Please B, just hear me out."

Spike looked back at Buffy to see what she wanted him to do. When she looked up at him, he could see how she truly felt about the brunette and that what was happening between them was not something casual. He simply nodded and slowly walked toward the door. "How's the face?" He asked sarcastically as he walked by Faith.

"Still prettier than yours." She answered with a sly grin.

Spike growled as he continued to walk away. Faith waited to make sure that he was gone before she took a few more steps closer to Buffy. She sighed heavily before speaking. "B, I need your help. I can't do this. I'm not a leader."

"I'm done being a leader." Buffy said sadly.

"So you won't help me." Faith asked reaching out to touch Buffy.

"Faith, I just can't." Buffy said ready to cry as she walked past Faith to avoid the contact.

"Why are you pulling away from me?" Faith said turning around to face her.

"I cut myself off from everyone. The potentials, my friends...you. Being a slayer means I keep people at a distance, but with you, it's my fault I stayed that way."

"Mine too." Faith said frustrated as sat down on the bed. "But I do remember some connecting back in the day." She said with a hint of seduction as she looked up at Buffy.

"Oh please, some flirting and dancing then a body switch does not count as connecting. You were always just being a flirt. You just liked that I was shy and seemed unattainable. You liked getting a rise out of me."

"You really think that's what that was about?" Faith asked surprised.

"Please let's not do this again." Buffy said gently putting her hands over her ears.

"Oh you are so frustrating." Faith said standing walking toward Buffy.

"Gee, thanks. I feel much better." Buffy said walking past Faith again.

"Well I'm not trying to cheer you up." Faith said turning to face her again.

"Then what are you trying to say?" Buffy said as she sat on the bed.

"I don't know but I will know when I'm done saying it." Faith said pacing the room impatiently. She sighed as she finally stopped and squatted down in front of Buffy. "Look, I lived a rough life, the kind of rough that you have no idea about. I have seen things you can't imagine and have been through stuff I wish you didn't. I'm not known as a thinker and I make mistakes. But I have seen the best and the worst of you. I have seen your strength and your compassion and I know with perfect clarity who you are." Buffy stared at Faith with tears in her eyes. She was in complete awe of Faith's words. "You're the one for me." Faith stated boldly.

"I don't want to be the one. I not very good at it." Buffy said trying to hold back the tears.

"I don't want to be this damn sexy and athletic. We all have crosses to bear." Faith said with a smile that made Buffy laugh. "Get some rest." She said as she stood and placed a kiss on Buffy's forehead.

"Will you stay with me?" Buffy asked.

"Sure." Faith answered with a smile.

"Are the others going to wonder where you went?" Buffy asked as she scooted over.

"No, I snuck out the window. They don't even know I'm gone." Faith said as she laid down on her back.

"Good." Buffy said as she laid her head on Faith's shoulder and allowed the brunette to gather her up in her arms. They just stared at each other for long time before drifting off to sleep.

--

_As Buffy stirred, she noticed her face was pressed against the softest skin she had ever felt. Opening her eyes, she realized she was lying against Faith's naked chest. Her eyes shot up toward the brunette who was staring down at her with a wicked grin on her face._

_Buffy had never seen Faith look so beautiful. She was propped up by pillows with one arm resting above her head and the other around Buffy's shoulders. Her hair was tossed and her naked, flushed skin was only covered up to the belly button by a thin white sheet._

"_You okay?" She asked Buffy. _

"_Yeah." The older slayer said trying to catch her bearings. It was then that she noticed she was naked as well. "Did we, um…."_

_Faith laughed slightly. "No."_

_Buffy sighed in relief. "Then whey are we here? Naked?"_

"_Because you aren't ready for it." Faith whispered with a seductive smile. _

"_Oh really?" Buffy asked arching an eyebrow. "How do you know?"_

"_Because if you were, we would be doing it right now instead of sleeping."_

"_I just don't want it to be like this." Buffy said sadly._

"_Like what?" Faith asked confused._

"_So rushed and so desperate. Like it is something we have to do now because we may not survive all of this." She let out a frustrated breath. "Can we please just wait, until this is all over? I want there to be something to look forward to, a reason to keep fighting."_

_Faith looked into her eyes and understood. "Sure, B." She said as she kissed the top of Buffy's head. They laid quiet for a moment before Faith broke the silence. "But if I die without gettin laid, I'm so coming back to haunt you."_

"_Deal." Buffy said with a genuine laugh._

--

Buffy was startled out of her dream and sat straight up in bed. She quickly checked herself and Faith then sighed in relief when she realized that they were both still dressed. She blushed at the thought of being naked in Faith's arms.

She looked down at the beautiful younger woman and lightly caressed Faith's face before giving her a gentle kiss on the lips before lying her head back down on Faith's chest. "Soon Faith, soon." She whispered as she drifted off back to sleep.

--

Faith woke as soon as she felt the sun begin to rise. She knew she had to get back. She was suppose to be leading an assault at seven. She looked at Buffy one more time, who was still sleeping so peacefully in her arms, and placed a long kiss on her forehead before extracting herself from the blonde.

She found a piece of paper in the night stand and quickly wrote Buffy a note. She placed it on the pillow next to her then gave her one more kiss. She stared at her for a few more moments, wanting to take all of her in, knowing there was a possibility that they may never see each other again.

--

Faith quickly climbed back in the window and changed her clothes without anyone noticing she had been gone. By the time she came downstairs, everyone was assembled in the living room. She saw the scoobies sitting on the couch in the midst of potentials. "I need you guys to do me a favor today."

"Okay." Xander said.

"I need you to find B. Just assess the situation. Don't get in her way and don't talk to her, just do a little recon."

"Why?" Dawn asked.

"I just want to make sure she's okay today, especially if…" Faith couldn't bring herself to say it. She knew that if she died today, Buffy would need her friends. She and Willow shared a look that let her know the redhead understood.

"We'll find her." Willow said nodding with a small smile.

Faith nodded in return before looking the potentials. "Those of you who are coming to the arsenal, you know who you are. Everybody ready?" They nodded slightly and she nodded in return. "Lets do this thing."

--

Buffy woke with the unfamiliar feeling of being cold. She opened her eyes and sat straight up when she realized she was alone. "Faith?" There was no answer. She then looked over to other side of the bed and noticed the note. She smiled slightly as she picked it up and began to read.

_B, _

_You were right. You should be done fighting, you have done it for way too damn long. This is my chance to repay you, by leading the girls on my own. Please stay away from fight today, I have a feeling it's gonna be wicked and I want you safe. One of us has got to live to fight another day. Just remember what I said. You are the one for me and you always will be. _

_Faith_

Buffy panicked as she jumped up to put her shoes on. She raced out of the house and as she hit the front lawn, she was ready to chase after Faith but stopped when she remembered what Spike said about the vineyard. She headed in the other direction to get whatever Caleb was hiding. She just prayed that she wasn't too late.

--

The only thing that amused Buffy more than watching Caleb cower to her holding the sythe, was the sight of him bossed around by The First version of herself.

"Let her go Caleb." He didn't move. "I said let her go." The First said a little more forcefully.

"I let her go, she slices me open with that thing." Caleb said keeping his eyes on Buffy.

"No, she doesn't. She's doesn't have time. She has friends and her friends are in trouble. Girlfriend go boom."

The smile immediately fell from Buffy's face as Caleb nodded in approval. "Well, she does deserve it after all. Livin in sin the way they do." Buffy rolled her eyes at another 'death to lesbians' comment. "But like I said, I'm not lettin her out of here with that thing."

"Sure you are. And then you'll come back for it later. When she's got her back turned, too worried and occupied with saving her poor Faith." The First said with an evil smile.

Buffy had heard enough. She quickly ran past them and out of the vineyard, preying she would reach Faith in time.

--

Buffy got to the sewer just as the girls were attacked by the ubervamps. She quickly killed them then turned to look through the faces of girls in the room. She began to panic when she didn't see her girlfriend. "Kennedy, where's Faith?"

"She's hurt pretty bad." Kennedy said as she showed Buffy where they had placed Faith before the fight.

Buffy knelt down and the tears began to swell in her eyes as she felt for a pulse at Faith's wrist. Relieved that she found one she breathed out a sigh of relief and kissed Faith's palm. "Get the rest of wounded, we're leaving." She said to Kennedy as she lifted Faith in her arms.

--

By the time they reached the house, Buffy's body was running on pure adrenaline and the desire to get her girlfriend home safely. She walked through the front door that Kennedy had opened for her. "Giles! Xander!" She yelled as she nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

The men quickly picked Faith up and carried her up the stairs with Buffy right behind them. Once they laid her down on the bed, Giles began to look her over.

"Is she still breathing?" Xander asked.

"Yes, but she's still unconscious." Giles said as he timed the pulse in her wrist.

Buffy slowly walked over to the side of the bed and bent down, kissing the younger slayer on the forehead. She then laid her forehead down on Faith's and allowed the tears to fall as she whispered. "You're the one for me too Faith. So you have to wake up, okay?"

TBC…..


	5. Broken Dreams

**Chapter Summary: **Buffy tries to hold it together as Faith battles her way out of another coma with the unexpected help of an old friend. (Faith's dream sequences are in italics.)

**The Way It Should Have Been**

**Ch 5 – Broken Dreams**

Giles had thrown everyone out to give Buffy and Faith some privacy. The blonde quickly climbed onto the bed and tried to wrap her arms around Faith without moving her too much. She closed her eyes and let the tears fall. "Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up." She whispered over and over again.

_--_

_Faith shook her head to try and focus her blurry vision. As everything came back into view she realized that she was in Buffy's old room. She looked around and remembered that she hadn't been here since…she was in her coma. _

"_Shit, well this isn't good." She mumbled as she continued to look around._

"_What makes you say that?" A voice said behind her. _

_She spun around to see Angel leaning against the window. "Angel?" She shook her head trying to get control of the situation. "Okay, so not who I was expecting."_

_He smiled slightly. "Why don't you want to be here, Faith?"_

"_Um, because I've been in a coma every time I've been here." She said as if he should know that. Instead he just laughed a little. "What you doin here, Big Guy?"_

"_Well, you walked me through my dream world, now its my turn to help you."_

"_Why?" She asked a little suspiciously. _

"_Because she needs you. It's you she's waiting for." _

_Faith looked down at her feet for moment. "Angel, I'm…"_

"_Don't say it," he interrupted, "because I know you aren't."_

_Faith looked up at him. "You're right, I'm not. I'll never be sorry for loving her." _

"_I know." He said with a small nod. _

_They were quiet for a moment while Faith eyed around the room. "You know this is a little creepy, right? You and me in here together?"_

_This time he gave a heartfelt laugh as he pushed himself off of the windowsill. "You're right." He said as he walked toward her. "You don't belong here."_

_The room began to spin and when it came to rest, Faith noticed that they were in the apartment that the mayor had gotten her.._

"_No, no, no. Angel, I can't be here." Faith said as she looked around the room in a slight panic. "I was evil then and Buffy came here to kill me. How can any of this be right?!" She yelled at him._

"_You still don't get it, do you?" Angel asked shaking his head._

"_Get what?" Faith asked angrily. "I know how this story ends. She made her choice. You lived, I almost died."_

"_But what you don't understand is how long it took her to walk through that door."_

_Faith was about to argue back but stopped when she actually comprehended what he had just said. "What?" She asked, not believing him._

_Angel sighed heavily. "She almost didn't do it, Faith. She was this close to letting me die to keep you alive."_

_Faith shook her head gently. "Angel, I didn't know. I never thought-" She stopped when she heard Buffy crying. She looked out the broken window and saw Buffy on the balcony, looking down. "Buffy?" _

_Faith headed toward the window but stopped when Buffy turned around. The blonde was holding the infamous knife in her hand and it was covered in blood. Faith felt a little queasy when she realized what had just happened. She watched Buffy slump back against the balcony wall, then slide down and started to cry harder. She was cradling the knife against her chest as if tying to hold a piece of Faith with her._

"_See, told you." Angel said coming up next to her._

"_Those could be tears for you, since she realizes that I got away and all"_

"_Oh, I highly doubt that." Angel said nodding back toward Buffy._

"_Oh God, oh God, what have I done?" Buffy cried as she put her hands on the side of her head and started to rock back and forth slightly. The sight of it broke Faith's heart. She tried to walk toward her but Angel put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. They stood in silence for a little while longer and watched her cry. _

"_Still think this is about me?" Angel asked. _

_They watched as Buffy got up and walked past them. "I just want to die." She sniffled and mumbled to herself. Faith was in shock when she realized exactly why it was that Buffy sacrificed herself to Angel. _

"_See, even when it came to saving me, it was still all about you. At that point, she didn't care if she died from the draining or not." Faith looked like she wanted to follow Buffy out of the room, but Angel stopped her. "Come on, there is something else you need to see."_

_As he put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around, Faith realized they were no longer in her old apartment. "Ok…" She said slightly confused. "Where the hell are we now?" It looked like they were standing on a hill in some underground cave, but none it looked familiar to her. She turned around to see that Angel had his back to her and was looking at something below them. "This better be interesting." She mumbled as she walked over to him. _

_Faith wasn't prepared for what she saw. She felt like the wind got knocked out of her as she watched a younger Buffy be drowned by a vampire. The sound of Buffy thrashing in water was making her feel sick to her stomach and her blood boil. She started to head down the hill but Angel grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and pulled her back up. "What the hell?!" _

_She looked back down again when she realized she no longer heard Buffy putting up a fight. Her worst fears were confirmed when she saw her girlfriend's body floating in the water. Before she could stay anything else, they saw a mystical white ball of energy leave Buffy's body. Angel could feel the tension in Faith's body, like she was ready to make another dash down the hill so he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. _

"_Just wait." He said gently as he pointed to an opening along the wall. _

_Faith stood by nervously and watched. A moment later Xander and Angel rushed in and their young friend brought Buffy back to life. The white light came back to her but now it was only half the size it was before. _

"_Ok," Faith said confused. "I don't get it."_

"_She has been half of what she once was since she died the first time." Angel said._

_Faith looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you kidding me? She seems to have only gotten better over the years."_

_He smiled at her lightly and nodded his head. "That not what I meant. For there to now be two of you, the slayer power has been cut in half and it has constantly been trying to get itself into one place again. That's why you two have always been so drawn together. _

_Its why you two have had this love/hate relationship from day one. You were drawn to one another by such a force that it scared you and so you both fought back to remain in control."_

"_Are you trying to tell me that the only reason why we love each other is because of the damn slayer connection?" She asked a little offended._

"_No, I'm saying it's what makes you two soul mates." He said a little sadly. _

"_Oh." Faith mumbled. She said nothing for a few minutes. "But Kendra…. and when Buffy died the second time?" _

"_Faith, stop trying to over analyze it." Angels said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "A soul mate is someone who is your best friend, who understands you better than anyone, who loves you, who you would go to the ends of earth for. There is nothing that can overpower that type of love."_

_Faith sighed as she thought about what he said. "Yeah, I guess you're right."_

"_Come on, time to go." Angel said squeezing her shoulder._

"_Where we goin now?"_

"_Back to Buffy."_

--

After telling everyone about the scythe and getting the research started, Buffy sat down on the backyard porch and cried, wishing Faith would wake up soon. She didn't even hear Willow walk outside until she started talking to her.

"She'll be ok." The readhead said sitting down next to her as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah." Was the only reply Buffy gave as she wiped her eyes and looked in the other direction.

Willow knew that meant Buffy was still angry with her. "Look, I didn't mean what I said before about your judgment and about Faith." She pleaded.

"Yeah." Buffy replied again, still not looking at her.

Willow sighed then grabbed Buffy's shoulders and turned the blonde so she was forced to look at her. "Buffy, yes I was a little shocked when Kennedy told me but that doesn't mean I haven't seen how much she's changed. I understand now why you like her. I've seen how much she truly cares about you in the last few days."

The tears were beginning to build up in Buffy's eyes again. "It's more than that."

"Okay." Willow said gently.

"I'm in love with her." Buffy said in a near whisper.

Willow tried to hide the shock in her voice. "Uh…Big okay."

Buffy could no longer hold in the tears. "I can't lose her Willow, not again, not permanently." Willow pulled Buffy into her arms and stroked her hair while her best friend cried. "How did you survive losing Tara?" Buffy finally asked in a whisper.

"She had us." Xander said from the doorway. Both girls looked relieved to see him and he smiled as he walked over to them. "Just like you have us." He said as he sat on the other side of Buffy and hugged his best friends.

They continued to hold onto each other until Willow noticed that Buffy had finally cried herself to sleep. "Where should we put her?" Willow whispered.

"There's only one place." Xander whispered as he gathered Buffy up in his arms.

"Do you think she's gonna be okay?" Willow asked as she opened the door for him.

"It depends on how Faith does." Xander said as they moved through the kitchen.

Once Buffy was tucked in safely next to Faith, Willow asked the question she had been dreading hearing an answer to. "Xander, what if Faith doesn't wake up?"

Xander looked at the two sleeping slayers then sighed as he moved toward the door. "If that happens then I think Evil Willow will have been nothing compared to a grieving slayer looking for revenge."

"Great." Willow mumbled with a nervous laugh.

--

"_Ok, where the hell are we now?" Faith asked when they were in a room she didn't recognize._

"_Where does it look like?" Angel said leaning against a desk. _

"_Well, it looks like a college dorm room. Which is somewhere that I never really had anything to do with. So what does it have to do with me?" _

_He smiled again lightly as he kicked a trunk that was at the foot of the bed and sent it sliding toward Faith. "Open it." _

_Faith eyed him suspiciously for a second before sighing. "Why the hell not." She mumbled as she took off her jacket then bent down and opened the trunk. She recognized a bunch of things that belong to her girlfriend. "Okay, so this is Buffy's dorm room. I still don't see what this has to do with me." _

_Angel sighed with a slight irritation as he bent down to the trunk as well. He moved the high school year books and stuff animals out of the way before pulling out three boxes and placing them in front of Faith. _

_Faith opened the first shoebox and saw a bunch of things that looked like they belonged to Angel or were things that she remembered that Angel had given to Buffy. "Come here to rub in?" Faith asked, eyeing him. _

"_No." He said keeping his voice in a neutral tone as he handed her the second shoebox. _

_When Faith opened it, she saw pictures of Buffy and Riley together along with several items that were probably gifts from Captain Cardboard. "Not helping here, Big Guy." Faith said as she slammed the block shut. _

"_This will." Angel said handing her the last one which was a beautiful hand-carved box. _

_She sighed in irritation as she took it from him, but the air got caught in her throat when she opened it and saw pictures of her and Buffy taped to the inside of the lid. There was one was from the homecoming dance, one from Christmas, and one of them sparring together in the library. _

_She began to pull items out of the box that she had no idea Buffy had kept. There was the receipt from their first post slaying meal after they killed Kiastos, a t-shirt of Faith's that Buffy had once said she loved on her, the extra key to her motel room, the 'crappy' Christmas present she had given Buffy, and her mailing info at the Los Angeles prison. It was almost like Buffy kept every little part of Faith that she could hold onto to. _

_At the bottom of the box, Faith found a stack of papers folded in half. She opened them, noting that it was from the hospital, and began to read the first one out loud. _

"_Dear Ms. Summers, __As Ms. Lehane's recorded next of kin, it is my duty to inform you that she remains __in critical condition." _

_Faith cleared her throat, "Blah, blah, blah. Okay, skipping the obvious." She said as she scanned the letter for anything relevant then continued to read. _

"_I understand that since you have started college, you have been unable to visit __her on a daily basis as you did throughout the summer." _

_Faith stopped reading and looked up at Angel with a confused look on her face. "Why do you looked so surprised?" Angel asked gently. _

"_I don't know…I just…I thought she abandoned me, you know?"_

"_Yeah, I know, but she didn't. You see that now, don't you?" He said placing a hand on her shoulder. _

"_Yeah, I guess." Faith said as she fingered through the rest of the letters. It appeared that the hospital had been sending Buffy weekly progress reports on her comatosed status. _

"_You still don't get the relevance of any of this do you?" Angel asked._

"_She kept my stuff buried in a trunk with her exs, so what?" Faith genuinely asked. _

_Angel just shook his head side to side. "Yes, she kept your stuff. In box, buried in a trunk just like with me and Riley. But you're missing the most important point of any of this. Don't you recognize it?" He asked pointed to the hand-carved box. "It used to be on the dresser in her room at home. You weren't thrown into a shoebox and hidden away as a piece of her past, Faith. She started collecting your stuff way before the incident with the mayor."_

_Faith looked at him, truly surprised. "Really?"_

"_Don't you see, Faith? Its always been you. Through me, then Riley, and even Spike. You have always been in her heart, fighting for dominance. Now's your chance, to truly have all of her and you are just lying there, waiting to die."_

"_I am not!" She yelled as she stood, fuming with anger. "I just don't know the way." She said as she looked around and noticed that the door and the windows had disappeared. _

"_Sure you do," Angel said, "just follow it." _

"_Follow what?" Faith asked as she turned around, but the vampire was gone. _

_She began to notice that her heart was pounding very loudly. "Oh I get it. Ha ha, follow my heart. God, could he be more corny?"_

"_I got one more for you." A voice said behind her._

_Faith spun around to see Buffy lying on her bed in a beautiful white nightgown. "B?" She whispered, so happy to finally have her girlfriend acknowledge her while they were in this damn dream world. _

"_Would you like to hear it?" Buffy asked with an angelic smile. Faith nodded as she slowly climbed onto the bed and made her way up to the blonde. "I can do anything as long as I have faith." Buffy whispered once Faith was hovering about her._

"_Damn straight." Faith said with a cocky grin before leaning down to give Buffy a passionate kiss. _

_Buffy met the passion of Faith's kiss and lifted her hands to cup the brunette's face and pull her in closer. Faith let out a moan as their bodies met then she quickly moved her hand up Buffy's leg and underneath the night gown. She let out a short surprising breath when she realized that her girlfriend was not wearing underwear. _

"_I love you Faith." Buffy said staring up at her with a smile._

"_I love you too, B." Faith said as she leaned and kissed her again. _

_Buffy eventually pulled her lips away to trail kisses across Faith's jaw line. "Make love to me Faith." She whispered into her girlfriend's ear before latching on to her neck with an assault of kisses. _

_Faith moaned when Buffy found the sensitive spot on her neck. She could no longer contain the passion that had been building inside of her. Quickly, and maybe with a little too much force, she entered Buffy with two fingers. The blonde released the hold on her neck as she threw her head back and let out a large moan. _

"_Ah…Faith, harder please." Buffy moaned. _

_Her girlfriend was all too happy to oblige the request. She pushed harder and could feel Buffy tighten around her fingers. As she continued to moan in pleasure, she began to fumble one-handedly with the zipper on Faith jeans. Once she got it open she quickly entered Faith with the same velocity. _

_Faith moaned and rocked forward violently at the sensation of Buffy touching her. She eventually gained her composure enough to slide one of the shoulder straps of Buffy's nightgown down to reveal a perfect perky breast. She gathered the nipple in her mouth, receiving an approving moan from her girlfriend. The harder Faith sucked, the harder Buffy pumped into her, until Faith couldn't take it anymore. _

_She released the breast and arched up, giving Buffy the chance to grab onto Faith's red tanktop and rip it at the neck line so she could reach one of Faith's breast and return the favor. Faith let out a long loud moan as Buffy latched onto her nipple and continued to pump into her. She could feel her orgasm building inside of her when all of a sudden-_

Faith sat straight up in bed, her face and hair covered in sweat. "Oh, come on!" She yelled as she slammed her hand down into the mattress is frustration as she realized that it had all been a dream.

Buffy was startled awake by the movement in the bed then smiled when she saw her girlfriend sitting up. "You're awake!"

"B?!" Faith turned her head in surprise, noticing for the first time that she was not alone in the bed. "You're here."

They kissed for several minutes as their hands roamed over each other's body.

"Hmm…I…missed you." Faith said between kisses.

"Don't…ever…scare me…like that…again." Buffy said between kisses as well.

"Okay." Faith said with a grin but then winced when Buffy tried to put her arms around her waist. "Oh fuck, B. Watch the ribs."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Buffy said sincerely as she tried to move out from under Faith.

"It's okay." The brunette hissed, holding her side.

"I'll be right back, I got two things that will make it better." Buffy said as she went out into the hall.

"Is sex one of them?" Faith mumbled.

"What?" Buffy called out to her.

"Nothing." Faith yelled back as she tried to even out her breathing and shake off the horniness. She smiled when Buffy came back in holding the scythe. "Well it isn't by birthday," She said sarcastically, "Did I forget our anniversary? Cause here I am with nothing for ya." She gave her girlfriend that wicked half smile that Buffy loved.

"Oh shut it." Buffy said with a smile. "On second thought, open."

"What?" Faith asked genuinely surprised.

Buffy rolled her eyes and handed Faith the pain pills. After Faith downed them with water, Buffy held out the scythe to her. "Now, feel this."

Faith grabbed onto it with both hands and leaned back against the pillows. "Damn…and damn that's powerful. It feels like its mine. Which means it's yours." She said as she set it out.

"It belongs to the slayer. To us." Buffy said as she sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed onto Faith's hand.

"No, it belongs to you." The brunette said shaking her head. "You're the leader."

"Faith, you're a leader too. It comes with being a slayer."

"Oh yeah, and look what a great job I did." She mumbled.

"Faith, you did everything right." Buffy said as she cupped the younger woman's cheek with her free hand. "We fight a war of medieval weapons and magic spells. Who would have thought they would sink so low as to use modern technology against us? That's just fighting dirty." Faith laughed and then dropped her head. Buffy frowned as she moved some of the brunette locks off of her girlfriend's face. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with you." She whispered.

Faith shook her head as she looked up. "I'm sorry I even brought it up. I could have gotten ya killed today. You would have been standing shoulder to shoulder with me when the bomb went off."

Faith closed her eyes and balled her fists in anger. Buffy laid her head down on Faith's chest and ran her fingers down to trail patterns around the clenched fist to try to get Faith to relax but it was no use, she was too pissed at herself. "God, I can't even imagine how many of the potentials I got killed today."

"Faith…." Buffy said sternly, yet gently into her girlfriend's chest.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Faith said sadly. They were quiet for a moment before the brunette spoke again. "So, here's the funny thing. In the midst of all of this, all I wanted to do is call you for help."

"Why is that funny?" Buffy asked as she sat up again.

"Because I'm a slayer and I guess I thought I would just know how to do this. The longer I thought about it, the more I realized that this is what it has been like all along for you, hasn't it? I mean, people are around to help you, but no one really understood what it was like to be you, to lead all of this. You've been alone this whole time."

"Yeah." Buffy said nodding her head lightly. "But it's the price we pay to be a slayer."

Faith nodded in agreement as she thought about her dream. "Do you ever think that maybe we've always had tension between us because there's only one of us? We're not meant to exist together?"

"Also, you were flirting with me but then jumping on every boy in sight. Kinda confuses a girl." Buffy deadpanned.

"True, also a factor." Faith nodded trying to hold in a smile which she no longer could once Buffy smiled at her.

The blonde sighed as she trailed her fingers up and down Faith's arm. "Honestly, I gave up a long time ago on trying to figure out how the whole slayer line works. It was giving me a headache. I concentrate on the more important things that I can figure out so I don't go crazy."

"Well thank God you have a hot girlfriend with superpowers." Faiths said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, totally takes the edge off." Buffy laughed as she climbed under the covers.

"My turn." She said as she gathered Faith in her arms. "You took care of me last night, now its my turn to take care of you." Once Faith was resting against her chest, she began to run her fingers through the dark hair. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Me too." Faith mumbled into Buffy's chest.

"You know I'm going after him for this." Buffy said as kissed the top of Faith's head.

"Yeah." Faith said quietly.

"And you know you can't come."

"Yeah." She said as she let the medicine pull her back to sleep.

--

As Buffy walked out the front door, she saw Spike coming up the steps. "Honey, you're home." He said semi-sarcastically.

"Yeah." She said with a small smile.

"And you found the holy grail, or the holy hand-grenade, or whatever." He said pointing to the scythe.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads up." She said smiling again.

"You're welcome." He smiled in return.

Spike was just about to walk around Buffy when she stopped him. "Look Spike, about Faith, please don't fight with her anymore, okay?"

He sighed and threw his cigarette to the ground. "Yeah, yeah, I know. No picking on your girlfriend." He said as he stomped on it.

"What? Are you jealous?" Buffy asked.

"Me? No, don't be a stupid git." He said trying to play it off like he wasn't.

"Riiiight." Buffy said as she raised an eyebrow at him. "Look you can play defensive and throw all the mix signals you want, I'm used to it with Faith. I just need to know if there is going to be a problem with you two being under the same roof?" Spike just sighed and shook his head 'no' knowing that he didn't really have a choice in the matter. "Good. Ok, then." Buffy said with a nod as she walked around him and headed down the driveway.

"Where you off to, pet?" Spike asked, watching her over his shoulder.

"I have a psychotic homophobic preacher to kill." She said in a determined voice.

"Sounds like my kind of night out." He said to himself with an evil smile as he creped into the shadows to follow her.

TBC…..


	6. I Choose You, Pt 1

**Sorry its been forever since I've updated. Life got really crazy for a while. Its looking to get worse but I really want to finish, so bare with me. Thanks to everyone who has read and commented on how much they like this story. It's what's driving me to stick with it.**

**Chapter Summary: **Spike tries to use Angel's arrival to drive Buffy and Faith apart but it ends up pushing their relationship in a whole new direction.

**The Way It Should Have Been**

**Ch 6 – I Choose You, Pt 1 **

Buffy stormed into the vineyard, while patting the flat side of the blade in her open palm. She tried to remain as calm as possible even though she wanted to do nothing more than shove the pointed end of it right down Caleb's throat.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Caleb said in a condescending tone.

"You terrorize my life, you hurt my friends, and you nearly killed the girl I love. This isn't going to end well for you." She said through gritted teeth.

"Well, bring it on then." He said in his usual cocky tone.

The fight had gone her way in the beginning but then he overpowered her and took the scythe. He swung it around and raised it above his head, ready to strike a deadly blow. "I was hoping it would go this way."

"Hey!"

Caleb turned around just in time to see Angel punch him in the jaw. He went sliding across the ground and stopped with a thud against the wall. Angel bent down slightly to help Buffy to her feet.

"I was never much for preachers." He said with a small smile.

"Angel." She said relieved to see him.

"You look good." He said, his smile growing slightly.

"You look timely." She said trying to make a joke, but then rolled her eyes when it failed miserably. "And also good." She added with a smile.

"I heard maybe you needed a hand." Angel said, the small smile still on his face. It quickly faded when he saw Caleb get up. As he moved toward the evil preacher, Buffy stopped him. He looked down at her and when he saw the look on her face, he got the hint. "Ah, It's one of those things you have to finish for yourself."

"It really kinda is." She nodded with a smile.

Angel smiled in acknowledgment as he walked over to lean against pillar. "You are so gonna lose." He said to Caleb as the slayer advanced towards him.

The fight went back and forth until Buffy caught Caleb in the stomach with the scythe, slicing him open. After he fell to the ground, Buffy turned back toward Angel and let out a tired breathe. "See, under control." She tried to say confidently.

"Well, least you can tell me is that you're glad to see me." Angel said sarcastically. His eyes begged Buffy to kiss him.

"I am." Buffy said with a smile as she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

Although it was less than he hoped for, Angel attempted to smile and not look disappointed. Unbeknownst to either of them Spike had been watching from a dark corner near the entrance. He growled in frustration as he turned to leave.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy finally asked.

"I heard you needed help. It's The First, isn't it? The evil that tried to get me to kill myself?"

"Its gotten a little bit more ambitious. It's raising an army."

Before Angel could answer, Caleb blindsided him with a shot to the head, sending him sliding across the floor. By the time he regained consciousness and stood up Buffy had Caleb split wide open.

Angel handed her the folder with all of the information he had on The First and showed her the medallion. He explained that it was meant to be worn by someone ensouled who was stronger than a human. Buffy then explained that he couldn't stay here because if she lost she needed him to protect the rest of the world.

Angel was not convinced. "Okay, that's one reason. What's the other?"

"I can't talk about it with you right now." Buffy said as she turned to leave.

"Is it Faith?" Angel asked as they exited. Buffy stopped but didn't turn around so Angel continued. "I can smell her on you."

Annoyed, Buffy finally turned around. "Anybody ever tell you that the whole smelling people thing is a little gross?" She asked sarcastically.

"Is she your girlfriend?" He continued.

"Is that your business?" She responded as she began to walk away.

"Are you in love with her?" He asked but Buffy continued to ignore him. "Okay, maybe I'm a little out of line here, but it's a curve ball for me. We're talking about Faith. She tried to kill you."

Buffy turned quickly to face him. "So did you." She stated blatantly. Angel mumbled something incoherent under his breath which annoyed her even more. "Are you gonna come here and go all Dawson on me every time I'm with someone."

"Ah ha, you said you're with someone." Angel pointed out.

Buffy sighed. "Look, how I feel about her will never change how I felt about you."

"I just don't see how you can go from being so in love with me to being with her."

She sighed again, trying to find the right words to not hurt his feelings. "A part of me has always been in love with her. Just like a part of me will always love you."

"Well that will end well." Angel mumbled as he walked passed her.

Buffy rolled her eyes as she turned to face him. "And what was the highlight of our relationship? When you broke up with me or when I killed you?" She gently walked over to him as she continued. "I'm well aware of my stellar history with guys. And I used to think that it was because I was the slayer that I could never make it work but the truth is that I have always had feelings for her."

She sighed as she looked up at him, the realization of her statement knocking her off guard just as much as it did him. "Look, I'm not saying I know what the future holds for me and Faith. I don't even know what the future holds for me in general, but right now, in the midst of all of this insanity, a few things have become very clear."

She took a deep breath and Angel looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "Okay, I'm cookie dough. I'm not done becoming whoever it is that I'm going to be. Faith is my oven. She is what will help me to become whoever it is I will be."

"So, Faith makes you hot?" Angel asked sarcastically, smiling a little when Buffy blushed. He cleared his throat, letting her know that his next question was meant to be more serious. "So someday, once you are cookies, do you think anyone other than Faith will get to eat…you?" He couldn't believe that it actually came out that way and neither could Buffy.

"Well, you know what they say, the baker always gets first dibs." She answered with a smile.

He nodded and held up his hands in defeat. "Ah, low man on the totem pole, I get it."

Buffy grabbed his hand. "No, no. You are high MAN on the totem pole, I'm just not on your….pole?" She looked at him to see if he understood her sentence beyond the accidental sexual innuendo. As soon as their eyes met they began to laugh at how incredibly awkward this conversation was getting.

-----------

Faith was sitting in bed reading a magazine when she heard someone coming down the hall. "Buffy?" She called hoping that her girlfriend had returned. She looked irritated and disappointed when Spike walked in. "So not the blonde I was looking for." She spat.

He smiled devilishly. "Well, you're not the dark and brooding one she's hanging out with, so I guess it really sucks to be you."

"What?" She asked sitting up slightly.

"Angel's in town. She's with him now." He said before turning to walk down the hall. "Just thought you'd like to know."

"Crap." Faith mumbled as she tossed the magazine aside.

------------

After getting kicked in the shins by Dawn and giving Angel's file to Willow, Buffy went upstairs to check on Faith. She leaned against the doorframe for a moment just watching her love reading.

"How's Angel?" Faith asked without looking up from the magazine. Buffy looked at her confused and surprised for a second but Faith continued before she could answer. "Spike ratted about seeing you kiss him." She said as she threw the magazine toward the foot of the bed. She put a hand behind her head and looked at Buffy, awaiting her response.

"Its not what it sounds like." Buffy said walking into the bedroom.

"Really? Then what was it?" Faith asked with a little harshness to her tone.

"A kiss on the cheek." Buffy stated gently as she sat down on the bed.

"Oh." That wasn't the answer Faith was expecting.

"I don't feel that way about him anymore." Buffy said quietly as she picked up Faith's hand and laced their figures together. Faith let out a long breath. "Faith, please believe me." Buffy begged.

"I do." Faith said, her tone so neutral that for once, Buffy couldn't tell what she thinking.

She raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend wondering why that had been so easy. Faith just gave her small smile in return. "I know. I dream walked with Angel, remember? I know how he feels about you." Buffy looked away slightly so Faith ducked her head to seek out her eyes. And I know how you feel about me. I heard you when I was asleep."

Buffy looked up at her, relieved, and smiled. "I meant it. You are the one for me."

"I know." Faith whispered, nodding slightly.

"But I was wrong about something." Buffy said as she stood up and took off her jacket.

"What?" Faith asked.

"We shouldn't wait anymore." She said in a serious tone, but with a smile on her face.

Faith studied her for a few seconds, making sure that Buffy really meant it. "Good, then come here." She said, nodding for Buffy to join her on the bed.

Buffy crawled onto Faith's lap and kissed her fiercely. After a few seconds they broke apart to catch their breaths so Faith took the opportunity to pull Buffy's shirt up and over her head, tossing it to the floor. Faith then lifted her arms so Buffy could help her lift her shirt over her head as well. Once they were both topless they laid their foreheads against each other with their eyes closed, trying to steady themselves for this moment.

"I have a request." Buffy whispered, her eyes still closed.

"Anything." Faith said with a smile, her eyes still closed as well.

"Don't hurt me." She said, almost childlike.

"What?" Faith asked, slightly insulted as she opened her eyes.

Buffy opened her eyes but kept them down. "It's just, everything with Spike…and I know you used to be kinda wild. Xander said-"

Faith put a finger on Buffy's lips, knowing what she meant. "It'll be okay, I promise." She whispered as she kissed Buffy on the cheek. "You just let me know if I take it too far, okay?"

Buffy nodded and let out a breath and started to relax. Faith realized that she was going to have to take control of the situation if they were ever going to move past this point. She began to trail light kisses down Buffy's neck and across her collarbone. Buffy let out a sharp breath as Faith moved her way down her breast and moaned when she latched onto her nipple.

Buffy couldn't help the desire that shot through her body as she arched more into Faith's touch. She tangled her hands in the brunette's hair and pulled lightly, causing Faith to let out a small moan of her own. She lifted her head to capture Buffy's lips again and flipped them over so the blonde was now on her back.

"You hurt yourself and not be able to finish, I'm gonna be so pissed at you." Buffy warned her as Faith sat back on her heels for a moment.

"I'm fine, see?" Faith said as she took Buffy's hand and placed it on her stomach where the bruises had already begun to fade.

Buffy finally gained the courage to freely caress her girlfriend's skin. She trailed a finger across firm stomach muscles as Faith began to undo Buffy's pants. She worked her hand up to the space between Faith's breasts as the younger slayer began to pull the pants off of her hips. Buffy's hand still as all she could do was watch Faith undress her.

She laid their mesmerized as she watched Faith pull the pants the last little way off her ankles before quickly dropping her own pants to the floor as well. Faith stepped out of them gently and slowly made her way back up to Buffy, noticing that the blonde had never taken her eyes off of her. She resumed her position between the older slayer's legs and they both gasped as their naked bodies finally made contact.

"You okay?" Faith asked.

Buffy just nodded as she grabbed onto Faith's head and pulled her down for a kiss. Faith eventually broke away and continued her path down the blonde's gorgeous body, stopping to pay proper attention to each of those perfect breasts.

Buffy again found her hand grabbing onto a handful of Faith's hair, not even realizing that she was willing the brunette to go lower. Faith took the hint and licked a long trail down well defined abs to Buffy's hip bone. As she scooted lower, Faith grabbed one of Buffy's legs and threw it over her shoulder, giving her complete access to where she wanted to be the most.

Buffy moaned when she finally felt Faith's tongue against her clit. The brunette expertly licked and twirled and knew just where Buffy needed her without her every having to be told. As Buffy began to move wildly beneath her, Faith brought her arm around Buffy's hip and placed it on her stomach to still her. The younger slayer could feel the passion building inside the blonde and slowed her pace, causing Buffy to groan a little.

"Just wait." Faith said sternly, yet with a small smile as she moved back up Buffy's body, satisfied that the blonde was wet enough.

"Please Faith." Buffy panted.

"Please what?" Faith teased with her trademark smirk.

"I need you inside of me." Buffy panted in a whisper.

It was by far the sexiest thing Faith had ever heard in her life. She couldn't control her desire any longer as she drove two fingers deep inside of Buffy. The blonde let out a loud moan which caused Faith to let out one as well. Buffy arched up to meet Faith's lips as the brunette continued to pump in and out of her.

Buffy began to feel brave and quickly moved her hand down to find Faith's wet center, driving two fingers into her. They continued to rock back and forth as the orgasms built inside of them.

Buffy caught Faith's breast as it swung near her face and began to suck hard, causing Faith to curse out. "Oh fuck, B." She couldn't help but pound into Buffy even harder.

Buffy eventually let out a moan that was a mixture of pleasure and pain which Faith noticed. She immediately removed her fingers from the blonde and forced her to do the same. "Oh God, Buffy are you okay. I didn't-"

Buffy shook her head. "No, Faith I'm fine. It was just a little too hard. Please don't stop, I'm so close."

Faith eyed her carefully for a second, just to make sure that she really wanted her continue. She could see nothing but love, trust, and desire in her girlfriend's eyes. She nodded in agreement as she leaned down for kiss. Buffy immediately move her hand down Faith's body but the younger woman stopped her.

"No." She whispered, shaking her head. Buffy raised an eyebrow at her. "Just trust me."

Buffy nodded. Faith smiled as she leaned down to kiss her and started a gentle grinding rhythm against Buffy's body. The mixture of their sweat and juices made it easy for them to slide against each other. Buffy matched her rhythm, feeling the orgasm building inside of her again by the sweet friction Faith's strong thigh was creating against her center.

Faith soon increased her speed and force causing them both moan. Buffy's orgasm came first, ripping through her like tidal wave. She wrapped one arm around the brunette's lower back and the other around under her arm, causing Faith to slow the pace into an almost jerking motion which was just what Faith needed as well and her orgasm quickly followed.

They locked eyes and panted heavily as they rode out the last of their orgasm together, chanting each other's name and pledges of love.

Exhausted, they laid in that position for a moment trying to catch their breaths. Faith eventually tried to extract herself from the blonde but Buffy wouldn't allow it.

"Just stay like this for a minute." She whispered.

"Sure." Faith whispered back as she placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you." Buffy whispered again, as she felt a tear of happiness fall down her cheek.

"No, B. Thank you." Faith said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.

**------------**

Faith laid awake with Buffy wrapped her arms long after the blonde had fallen asleep. She eventually decided to get up and headed toward the window. They had locked themselves in this little love bubble long enough for the night. The world was still ending and they hadn't figured out how to stop it.

All was silent for a few moments before The First appeared in the form of Caleb.

"You're not him." Faith said with a mixture of irritation and amusement in her voice.

"No, she killed him, right and proper." He said walking up to stand behind her. "But I will overrun this earth. No one can stop me, not you, not Buffy or any of your little friends."

"I'm not afraid of you." Faith spat, turning around to face him.

"Oh, then why aren't you asleep in your new lover's arms?" He asked. Faith looked over at Buffy and he got closer to her ear, whispering. "It's because you know you don't belong there."

He stepped back when her head jerked back in his direction. "You don't belong here." He added as he motioned around the room as if to indicate that Faith had no business being in Sunnydale, being a slayer at all. "No one can help you beat me, not even her. Even your wanna-be slayer brigade are powerless until you die. You know the drill."

The First then morphed into Buffy. "Into every generation a slayer is born. She alone will have the strength and skill…there's that word again. What you are and how you will die."

Faith looked over at Buffy sleeping in bed and she knew that it wasn't true.

"Where's the snappy come back?" The First Buffy asked.

"You're wrong." Faith spat.

"Hm, not your best."

"Well then let me try it again. You're fucking wrong." She said with attitude as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Because we walk this world together as the chosen two. Because there's a glitch in the system."

Buffy began to stir. "Faith…you alright?"

Faith looked over at her and when she looked back, The First was gone. "Yeah, something just occurred to me."

"What?" Buffy asked as she yawned and sat up.

"We're gonna win." Faith said smiling.

"That just now occurred to you?" Buffy asked, yawning again.

"No, I just now realized why."

"Why?"

"Because we are the chosen two." She said with confidence.

Buffy smiled and shook her head, trying to shake the sleepiness out of her brain so she could catch up. "Okay, then how?"

Faith just gave her a cocky smile as she walked back over to the bed.

TBC…..


	7. I Choose You, Pt 2

**Thank you for everyone who has stuck with the story! It's greatly appreciated. **

**Chapter Summary: **As the gang prepares for the final battle, Buffy and Faith try to make the most of what little time they may have left.

**The Way It Should Have Been**

**Ch 7 – I Choose You, Pt 2**

After formulating the basics of the plan, the girls decided to get dressed. They both threw on sweat pants. Buffy decided to put on a large comfortable sweatshirt while Faith wanted to wear her tank top, if she could ever find it. God knows where Buffy threw it when she stripped off of her earlier that evening.

Fifteen minutes later the slayers emerged from their room. They slowly made their way downstairs, noting how odd it seemed to have the house so quiet with all of the potentials sleeping. They entered the dinning room to see that Giles was sitting at one end of the table reading while Andrew and Xander were playing a board game at the other.

Giles noticed them first. "Girls, is everything alright?" He asked as he closed his book and stood up.

"Yes, we need to know everything you know about the passage of the slayer power." Buffy answered quickly.

Giles gave her a perplexed look. "Buffy, what's this all about?" He asked gently, walking around the table towards them.

Faith looked slightly annoyed as she sighed. "Look, when Buffy died the first time Kendra was called, then I was called when she died. But when Buffy died the second time no new slayer was called."

"But each time I came back to life I still had my powers." Buffy interjected. "We need to know why."

"And how." Faith added.

"Can we do it again, divide the powers up even more?" Buffy asked, but then noticed that Xander's eyes bugged out of his head. "Without killing me or Faith." Buffy added which caused her old friend to sigh.

"I'll see what we can find." He said with his calm, fatherly smile.

"I'll wake Willow." Xander said pushing up out of his chair.

"Ooh, I'll make coffee and grab snacks." Andrew added, bouncing off towards the kitchen.

Buffy then thought about the amulet that Angel had given her. "I need to go talk to Spike." Buffy said to Faith.

"He's in the basement." Giles offered.

She smiled a 'thanks' at him before kissing Faith's cheek. Faith smiled at she watched her go then turned back to Giles. "I may have a theory." She said thinking about to her dream-walk with Angel.

He smiled at her. "Okay." He said as he motioned for her to take a seat.

--------------

As Buffy walked down the basement steps she could see Spike wailing away on the punching bag.

"I see the angry one forgave you." He muttered without looking up at her. "I saw you with tall, dark, and forehead."

"Then you saw nothing." She said walking down the rest of the way and getting in between him and the punching bag. "And you started a lot of trouble over nothing." She stopped when something dawned on her. "Wait, how do you know she already forgave me?"

"I can smell her on you. Makeup sex is always a strong scent." He said with a smirk.

"You're gross." She spat.

"Whatever." Spike mumbled as he moved to the side of Buffy so he could get to the punching bag again.

"Don't whatever me." Buffy said getting in his way again. "Its bad enough the world is coming to an end but I have to deal with two jealous ex-boyfriends slash vampires." She said throwing her hands up before she poked him the chest. "You promised me, no more of this shit."

He just sighed and turned away from her, pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it.

"I need you in this with me." Buffy said behind him.

"No you don't." He said over his shoulder. "You got both of your brooding brunettes by your side."

"No, I sent Angel home. He needed to understand just like you do." She said as she pulled on his arm to make him turn around. "I love Faith." The declaration made Spike rolls his eye up as she continued. "I want to be with her, and you two are just going to have to get over yourselves." She took a long breath to calm her tone. "I need your head in the game."

Spike still refused to meet her gaze as he continued to smoke his cigarette.

"I have something for you." She said pulling the amulet out of the front pocket of her sweatshirt.

"What's that, a consolation prize?" He spat.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "No, its something Angel gave me. He said it was very important for this fight. But he did say it was volatile."

"Oh, come to kill me off then?" He asked sarcastically.

Buffy looked at him seriously as she walked toward him. "No, I need it to be worn by someone more than human."

"Then I'll just kidnap a newbie vamp and we can strap it on him."

"It needs to be worn by a champion." She said as she placed it in his hand.

Spike was at a loss for words for a moment. "I've been called a lot of things in my time, but never that." He said as he looked down at the amulet in his hand.

"I need you, Spike." Buffy said as she put her hand around his. "I need my friend in this."

Spike finally looked up, staring deep into her eyes and nodded in agreement. She smiled and nodded in return. As she turned to leave she finally saw what Spike had been punching at. A quick drawing of Faith was taped to the punching bag. She looked up higher and saw a drawing of Angel taped there as well. She looked back at Spike, glaring.

"Oh come on, don't ruin all my fun." He said rolling his eyes.

--------------

Buffy went back into the living room to find Faith pacing while the others researched. Her brown eyes drifted back and forth between the table and her own hands as she cracked her knuckles. Buffy smiled as she watched her for a moment and smiled when she realized that she knew it was Faith's nervous habit, even though there was no sign of nervousness on her girlfriend's face.

There was something about the younger slayer in this moment that Buffy found absolutely beautiful. The red tanktop contrasted her tanned skin beautifully and the black sweatpants were just tight enough to outline her perfect ass. Buffy started to blush when she notice they she was objectifying Faith in a way she was sure every man on the planet did. Though, Buffy knew there was a difference to it. She knew Faith, inside and out now, and the there was more than her outgoing sex appeal that drew her to the brunette.

Even through all the chaos and death, there was something different in Faith's eyes, in her whole demeanor. Maybe it was her newfound maturity and inner calmness. Then again, it could have been a post-sex glow, but whatever it was, Buffy felt herself being pulled toward the brunette. She desired to be closer to her.

Faith had stopped pacing and was now leaning against the entrance way to the dinning room on one shoulder, her arms cross over her chest. Buffy walked up behind her and put her arms around her waist and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her neck that was exposed by the cut of the tanktop.

"Come back to bed with me." Buffy whispered.

Faith gave her a small smirk over her shoulder. "Everyone else is up now. That's kinda harsh to be catching some beauty sleep while they're all working."

"That's not why." Buffy said as she kissed her bare shoulder.

Faith looked over her shoulder at Buffy to make sure that she was reading all the signals correctly. The blonde looked up at her with a look that could not be disputed. "Okay." The brunette said quietly.

They rushed upstairs before the others even noticed they were gone. "What's gotten into you?" Faith asked through a small laugh.

"Was that a literal question?" Buffy asked. "Because the answer is you." She whispered into Faith's ear.

Faith was a little taken back by Buffy making such a direct sexual innuendo but smiled with wonderment as she watched Buffy start to undo the tie on her black sweat pants.

"Is this a solo game?" Faith asked.

"I sure hope not." Buffy replied as she looked up at the taller girl. "There are things that I have wanted to do to you since the first time I saw you." Buffy said as she closed the distance between them.

Faith grinned at her. "I knew slaying made you hungry and horny. I just didn't realize it was MY slaying that did it to you."

"Yes you did." Buffy said placing a kiss on her shoulder.

Faith nodded. "You're right, I did." She said as let out a breath. "I wanted to kiss you the second I made you blush that first night at the Bronze."

Before Buffy could respond, Faith captured her lips and lifted her up at the same time.

Buffy instinctively locked her legs around Faith's waist as Faith pushed them up against the door. She leaned back slightly so she could take her tanktop off. After pulling the sweatshirt over Buffy's head she attacked her neck which made the blonde moan.

Buffy eventually pulled on Faith's hair gently so she could reach her lips. As the kiss deepened, Faith carried her over to the side of the bed. Once they were lying down, Buffy flipped them over so they she was on top, causing Faith to chuckle in surprise.

The blonde smiled as she trailed kisses down Faith's chest then over firm abs. Faith let out a low moan and curled her fingers in Buffy's hair, urging her to go lower. She looked up at the younger woman and smiled before pulling the black sweats down and discarding them on the floor.

Faith lifted herself on her elbows to see Buffy standing at the end of the bed, just staring at her. "Take um off." She whispered as she nodded at Buffy's pants.

Buffy smiled and nodded before slipping her own pants off as well. Faith watched her intently as she crawled back up onto the bed and laid down next her girlfriend. They were quiet for a moment.

"You okay?" Faith asked as she wrapped her arms around Buffy.

"Just thinking." She whispered.

"About?"

Buffy was quiet a little longer before pushing herself up on one elbow so she could look at Faith. "Promise not to let this conversation get too heavy?"

"Sure." Faith said sitting up on her elbow as well. She watched as Buffy fought the emotions inside of herself. "B?" She finally whispered as she tucked some blonde hair behind her ear. "What's up?"

Buffy finally let out a frustrated breath. "We may die tomorrow."

"And?" Faith asked gently, not quite sure where this conversation was leading.

Buffy just smiled at her. "And if we do, I will regret not doing this to you at least once." She said as she gently pushed Faith down on to her back.

Before Faith could ask her what she wanted to do, the blonde had already moved down between her legs. She sucked in a large breath waiting for it to happen, but Buffy was teasing her, alternating kisses on each thigh. Just as Buffy began to trailed the kisses down toward her center, Faith caught her by the hair.

"Buffy." She whispered in a slight panic.

Buffy looked up at her a little surprised she had been stopped. "What's wrong?"

"I…it's just…" Faith couldn't get the words out.

Buffy just stared at her for a moment trying to decipher the emotions she saw running across her girlfriend's face. She finally figured it out. "You've never let anyone do it before, have you? You've never been able to give that kind of control."

Faith just nodded.

Buffy leaned her cheek against Faith's thigh and looked up at her lovingly. "Do you trust me?" She asked.

Faith took a deep breathe and gave Buffy a faint smile as she nodded. Buffy nodded in return as she kissed the inside of her thigh and again made her way down to Faith's center. She paused for a second before placing a gentle kiss on Faith's clit.

When the brunette moaned lightly, Buffy took it as a good sign and began a gentle stroking motion with her tongue, causing Faith to hiss as her hips moved slightly. Buffy continued the motion, loving the taste and the feeling of Faith's most sensitive area.

Faith was losing control and she knew it. More importantly, she wasn't fighting it anymore. She loved Buffy and trusted her with her life. She allowed her body to relax and enjoy the sensation.

Finally, it became too much for her to take. She gently pulled on Buffy's hair, bringing her back up body.

"What I do wrong?" Buffy asked, panting.

"Nothing, I just had to touch you." Faith said as she quickly plunged two fingers deep inside Buffy's wet core. Buffy nearly screamed and muted it by slumping forward and taking a nipple into her mouth which caused Faith to moan loudly.

Faith grabbed onto Buffy's hip with her free hand and rocked her back and forth. Buffy eventually sought out her lips and kissed her hard before rolling them slightly so they were both on their sides. She entered Faith quickly and they continued to pump into one another as Faith wrapped her free arm around Buffy's shoulder, cradling the blonde against her.

When Buffy broke the kiss to catch her breath, she threw her head back in ecstasy exposing her neck. Faith was quick to find the sensitive spot near her throat causing Buffy to moan loudly as a spark ran through her.

Buffy's moans seemed to heighten Faith's own arousal. She pushed harder into Buffy in longer strokes which sent the blonde into a spiraling orgasm. Faith rolled them so Buffy was on her back and the pressure from now being on top was the last little bit she needed to go over the edge as well.

Once they rode out their orgasms, they fall apart, sweating and breathing heavily, but manage to still be touching each other in some way.

Faith looked over at her and noticed that Buffy was starting to dose off. "Don't fall asleep." She whispered.

"Why?" Buffy said in almost a whining tone.

"Because if you're right, I want to spend the rest of my life awake with you."

Buffy opened her eyes and smiled at her and she touched Faith's cheek. "Exhaustion is not going to help matters any. Besides, you know they're going to wake us up in a little while anyway. Might as well try to get a little sleep, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." Faith said quietly.

"Good." Buffy said with a smile as moved closer to Faith so she would spoon her.

"So you okay with not being the chosen two anymore?" Faith asked as she grabbed the comforter and flung it over them.

"We'll always be the chosen two." Buffy said as she turned slightly to cup Faith cheek. "Because we love each other."

"True that." Faith said with a smile as she leaned down to give Buffy a gentle kiss.

"Go to sleep by love." Buffy said with a smile as lightly ran her fingers through Faith's hair before turning back around and allowing her girlfriend's strength to engulf her into a protective sleep.

-------

A few hours later, Willow knocked on the door. "Buffy? Faith?"

The blonde was the first to stir. She sat up and shook her head to get her bearings before looking over at her sleeping girlfriend. "Girl sleeps like she's dead already." Buffy mumbled as she dragged herself out of bed.

"Hold on, Will." She whispered as she grabbed the nearest shirt and pants she could find.

When Buffy finally opened the door, Willow smiled at her knowingly, noticing that Buffy was wearing what Faith had come downstairs in a few hours earlier. Buffy shot her a look, warning not to comment. Instead, the redhead coughed down a laugh before speaking. "I think we got it."

-------

As the slayers made their way downstairs, they saw the group gathered around the dinning room table.

"Okay girls, here's what we've established." Giles said as he placed a large blueprint map on the table. "The rock under the vineyard where you found the scythe is the same stretch of rock that leads over to the cave where Buffy drowned. The power of the scythe must have been so strong that it seeped through and was able to keep the slayer power connected to you and wield it on to Kendra."

Buffy nodded as she followed the path that he had drawn on the map with his finger. Giles took his glasses off to clean them as he continued. "Since the second time you 'died' wasn't really a death, you were never stripped of your powers then, either."

Faith had a very confused look on her face which Buffy quickly noticed. "I'll explain later." She whispered into her girlfriend's ear.

Faith nodded before looking up at the group. "So maybe Red can split it up even more now." She offered.

"By doing what?" Willow asked.

"Harnessing the power of the scythe directly. Make all of the potentials, full powered slayers at the same time." Faith stated.

"What do you think?" Buffy asked hopefully, as she looked at the group.

"It depends. Are you in any way, kidding?" Xander asked.

"We know it's pretty radical but we think it could work." Faith added.

"It's a lot more than that." Giles said. "It flies into face of everything we've, well every generation, has done in the fight against evil." A small smile crept onto his face. "I think its bloody brilliant."

"Really?" Buffy asked.

"If you want my opinion?" Giles asked.

"We really do." Buffy said hopefully

"Then, yes." He said with a proud smile.

--------------

Once the rest of the plan was formulated, Buffy and Faith headed back up to bed.

"You weren't dead?" Faith said as she stormed into the room.

"Will you keep your voice down?" Buffy said as she shut the door behind them.

"All this time." Faith swung around to look at Buffy. "All this time, I've felt guilty for not being there that night and you didn't even bother to tell me that you weren't even dead."

"Yes, I was." Buffy said as she rushed over to Faith trying to hold her.

Faith adverted her as she continued to rant. "But Giles just said you weren't. Do you have any idea how much it fucked me up thinking you were dead? The guilt I felt for not being there but also for not being able to make things right between us?" The brunette then turned her back on her girlfriend to try to control her anger.

Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to figure to how to explain it. She let out a long breath as she walked over to the younger slayer. "Faith, please listen to me." She said as she grabbed her girlfriend by the hand and dragged her over to the bed.

Once they were sitting Buffy cupped Faith's cheek and gently forced her to look at her. "For all intent purposes I was dead. They put my body in the ground and I was no longer on this earth. Other than that, where I was is irrelevant, okay?"

Faith still didn't say anything so Buffy decided it was time to take drastic action. She climbed onto Faith's lap and used both of her hands to make Faith look up at her. "I didn't just come back because I wanted to. I was gone. Willow and the others had to pull me back. So stop beating yourself up over it. I know what you would have done if you were there but its in the past. I need you head here with me for this fight, okay?"

For a moment, Faith didn't say anything but then leaned up and placed a hard, yet desperate kiss on Buffy's lips. "I'm sorry." The brunette whispered.

"Don't be." Buffy whispered back as she kissed Faith on the cheek before climbing off of her lap. "Make it up to me by holding me for what's left of this night."

"You got it." Faith said with a smile as she watched her beautiful girlfriend start to shed her clothes.

Once they were both undressed and under the covers, Faith pulled Buffy to her and wrapped the smaller girl in her arms. Buffy nuzzled her head into the crook of Faith's neck and took a deep breath.

"I can feel your heart beating." Buffy whispered.

"I can feel yours too." Faith whispered with a smile as she kissed the top of Buffy's head.

"Don't let go, okay." Buffy mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

"Not a chance in hell." Faith whispered as she closed her eyes.

-------------

Morning came faster then anyone would have wanted. Everyone gathered quickly in the living room to hear the slayers' plan. For the most part, Buffy did all of the talking.

Faith just leaned against the wall behind Buffy, proudly watching her girlfriend give what would be the last motivational speech before their final battle.

"So here is the part where you get to make a choice." Buffy said as she stood in front of the girls. "What if you could have that power? Now."

All of the girls' eyes widen slightly. "In every generation one slayer is born," Faith said as she pushed off the wall and came to stand next to Buffy, "because a bunch of men who died thousands of years made up that stupid rule." Her distain radiated in her voice so Buffy put a calming hand on her arm.

"They were powerful men." Buffy said gently. "This woman," she said pointing at Willow, "is more powerful then all of them combined."

"So we say we change the rule." Faith added. "We say that our power" she nodded toward Buffy, "should be OUR power." She said as she pointed around the room.

"Willow's gonna use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny." Buffy continued. "Every girl that could be a slayer will be a slayer. This evil is too big for just the two us." She paused as she looked at Faith for a moment before turning her attention back to the girls. "This world is too big for just the two of us." This time she kept her eyes on her girlfriend as she continued, "And I don't know how much longer I can do this, or for how long I will want to." The last part was barely a whisper.

Faith gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand in encouragement and Buffy smiled back. "We have both paid a high price by being slayers," the blonde said turning her attention towards the girls, "but now, the price is much too high. You can have the power to save the world. But the choice has got to be yours."

"What do ya say, girls? Are you ready to be strong?" Faith asked with her trademark grin.

--------

Once they entered the school, Faith and Spike led the potentials down to the basement while Robin, Anya, Andrew, Dawn, and Kennedy took their places throughout the top level. After everyone was in place, it was just Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles standing in the hallway.

They were quiet for a moment before Xander broke the silence. "I kinda like that we all have the girlfriend thing in common now. We should go to a strip club."

"Or maybe hooters" Willow said excitedly.

"Oh Faith would love that." Buffy said rolling her eyes.

"Kennedy likes going there for the hot wings as much as the breasts." Willow added.

"I can't believe you are thinking of food at time like this." Giles said a little astonished.

"They weren't talking about the food." Xander informed him.

Giles watched as his three no-longer-teenagers walk down the hall and continued with their conversation. He shook his head. "The three original defenders of the hellmouth are all chasing skirts." He mumbled as she turned to walk in the other direction. "The earth is definitely doomed."

------

Faith watched from around the corner as Buffy had her private goodbye with the Scooby gang. She then pulled her head back as she saw the blonde walking towards her.

"Hey there, beautiful." Faith said with a cocky grin as Buffy came around the corner.

"Hey yourself." Buffy said smiling back. She noticed how calm and collected Faith looked as she was leaning against the wall with her hands in her jacket pocket. "How it is you find the time to be all flirty in the middle of an apocalypse?"

Faith smiled. "Well if I had to wait until we weren't in the middle of an apocalypse, I would never be able to get my flirt on."

"Very true." Buffy said smiling. "Shall we?" She said holding on her hand for Faith to take. She was a little saddened when Faith just looked down at the ground. "Faith, I know this is a stupid question, but are you alright?"

That made Faith laugh slightly as she took her hands out of her pockets. Her left-hand fingers began to play with the ring on her right pinkie. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm ready for the fight, its just…this is the first time I've been truly afraid of dying. I actually have a life to look forward to now." She then looked up at Buffy. "Its funny, I'm not afraid of losing you. I know I would die to keep you safe. I'm just afraid of not being there afterwards to enjoy a life with you."

Buffy said nothing but smiled as she engulfed Faith in a hug around the neck which Faith returned by hugging Buffy around the waist. They stood there for a moment in silence, their heads buried in each other's necks, just enjoying the peaceful serenity that their contact always seemed to bring in moments of complete chaos.

After a moment, Faith pulled away to give Buffy a small kiss. When they pulled apart, Faith took the ring off of her pinkie finger. "Here, I want you to have this." She said as she put it on Buffy's ring finger. "No matter what, know that I love you."

"Faith, don't do this. Please don't act like this is the end." Buffy pleaded.

"I'm not, I promise I'm not." Faith said in a tone that let Buffy know was serious. She knew this was Faith's way of promising her a future.

Buffy then looked down at Faith's ring on her finger and smiled. Knowing that she had something of Faith's with her going into the fight of their lives gave her great comfort. She wanted Faith to have that feeling too.

She quickly took off the ring she wore on her middle finger. "Here." She said with a smile as she placed it on Faith's ring finger. She kissed the inside of Faith's palm before looking up at her.

Faith looked at her, awe struck. They clasped their ringed hands together and smiled before Faith pulled Buffy into a searing kiss. She wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist and pulled her as close as she could, loving the feeling of their bodies pressed together.

Faith eventually had to break away to get air. "Damn, now that is a part of life I can't wait to get back to."

"Then let's do this." Buffy said with a smile as she started to walk down the hallway.

"Right behind ya." Faith said smiling as she playfully smacked Buffy's butt.

TBC……


	8. Power Up

**Chapter Summary: **The final fight against The First is upon them.

**The Way It Should Have Been**

**Ch 8 – Power Up**

The slayers walked down to the seal, hand in hand, where Spike and the potentials were waiting for them. Once they were in position around the seal, Faith pulled the knife out of her back pocket and handed it to Buffy.

"After you, dear." The Bostonian said sarcastically.

Buffy just smiled and rolled her eyes as she made the first cut then passed it off to the potential standing next to her. Once the knife made its way around to Faith she made her cut then put the knife back in her pocket. She grabbed onto Buffy's good hand with her own and gave it a gentle squeeze. They locked eyes for a moment and smiled lovingly at each other.

"Okay girls, lets do it." Buffy finally said as they all attempted to drip their blood onto the seal.

Once it opened, Buffy looked up at Faith a little worried so Faith smiled at her. "I'll lead." The brunette offered.

Buffy smiles at her warmly. "No, I got it."

"Age before beauty then." Faith said with a wicked smile as she gestured for Buffy to walk in front of her.

Buffy swatted her girlfriend in the hip then grabbed her hand as she passed, pulling the brunette along with her.

------------

Buffy was glad that Willow was able to activate the potentials before the vampires made it up the landing. Once Kennedy brought the scythe back to her, the slayers had the advantage. However, after a while Buffy realized that most of the girls were holding on but some of them were beginning to fall and the vampires were heading for the stairs.

"Keep the line together!" Buffy yelled to the new slayers. "Drive them to edge, we can't let them-"

Faith turned when she realized Buffy had stopped mid sentence. She felt the air catch in her throat as she saw the vampire pull the sword out of Buffy's side. "Buffy!" She yelled as she ran to her. She caught her as she began to fall forward and gently lowered her to the ground.

"Hold the line." Buffy said weakly, as she tried to hand the scythe to Faith.

Faith shook her head, refusing to take it. "B, god damn it, don't you dare. Get up and fight!" Buffy tried but couldn't. Faith began to panic. "B, come on please. I need you."

Buffy couldn't help but close her eyes for a moment and let the darkness take her. As soon as Faith noticed she lost consciousness, she used the scythe to wipe away some vampires before throwing it Kennedy.

"Ken, cover me!" She yelled as she picked Buffy up and carried her towards the stairs.

They were blocked by the some of the girls who were trying to keep a group of vampires from getting to the top. She decided to put Buffy down along the wall of the stairs so she could look at the wound. She had to fight back the tears as she placed her hand on Buffy's stomach to stop the bleeding but soon realized that it wasn't stopping in the back. She quickly took off her jacket and wrapped it around Buffy's waist, and used it to apply pressure on both sides in order to stop the bleeding.

"Don't you fucking leave me." She said as she placed a desperate kiss on her forehead then shot straight up to fight off a vampire that lunged at her.

----------

_Buffy opened her eyes and was surprised to see that she was in a bedroom. Faith was placing the pillows at the head of the bed. _

"_We're making beds again?" Buffy asked. _

_Faith smiled at her. "For some reason you like it here. Even from the beginning, you were thinking about getting me in bed."_

_Buffy rolled her eyes at the flirtatious comment. "Faith, be serious." She said as they walked toward each other at the end of the bed. _

"_Ok." Faith said as placed her hand on Buffy's cheek. "I got you back safe then and I'll get you back safe now."_

_Buffy smiled as she turned her head to kiss Faith's hand then looked around the room for a moment. "This isn't my room." She said as if she just realized it. _

"_Yes it is." Faith with a smile. _

_Buffy was a little confused but then understood when she saw the way Faith smiled. "You mean it will be?" She asked._

"_Yep." Faith said as she closed the distance between them, placing a gentle kiss on her lips before resting her forehead against the blonde's. "So, come back to me, B."_

--------

Buffy rose and shook her head to get her bearings.

"Nice to have you back." Faith said smiling as she backed up towards her while fighting off a group of vampires.

Buffy just smiled at her then looked over at Rhonda who threw her the scythe. They continued to fight until the light ripped through Spike.

"Everybody out, now!" Faith yelled. She headed toward the exit but waited until the rest of the girls were out before she headed up. She stopped when she realized that Buffy was still at the bottom with Spike. "Buffy, come on!" She pleaded.

Buffy looked up at her and gave her an encouraging smile. "Go on Faith, I'll be right there."

"I'm not leaving here without you!" Faith yelled as the ceiling started to come down around them.

"Just go!" Buffy yelled back. "I'm right behind you." She turned to Spike and grabbed his hand. "I love you for doing this." She said with a smile.

"No you don't." He said calmly. "You love her. But thanks for saying it."

---------

Faith was waiting for Buffy at the top of the stairs when she saw Dawn get trapped by a piece of falling ceiling. "Shit." She mumbled, as she took off toward the younger Summers. Once she freed her she tried to help the girl stand. "Can you walk?"

"I don't think so." Dawn said as she crumbled.

Faith had to make a split decision, did she wait for Buffy or did she get Dawn to safety? She knew Buffy would be heart broken if anything happened to her little sister so she took one more look towards the stairs before picking the girl up and carrying her out to the bus.

"Go!" Giles yelled once Faith and Dawn were inside.

"Robin, no. Wait for Buffy!" Faith yelled.

"There's no time!" He yelled over his shoulder as he saw things start to collapse in the rear view mirror.

"She wouldn't want us to wait." Giles said putting a comforting hand on Faith's shoulder.

"I know." Faith said shrugging him off as she turned to look out the windows, hoping to see her girlfriend trying to catch them. Frustrated, she stood straight up again, and decided another tactic. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her.

No one had noticed that Buffy was running along the rooftops desperately trying to catch up to the bus before it pulled out of town. She tried to will all the cosmic energy she had towards Faith to let her know that she was okay.

Faith could feel Buffy close by and suddenly she knew. "Stop!" She yelled as she gripped Robin's shoulder which startled him into stopping. A second later they heard a loud thud on the roof of the bus. "Go!" She yelled, patting him on the shoulder again.

Faith raced to back of the bus and threw the emergency door open and climbed up to see Buffy trying to hold on for dear life. "Hold on B, I'm coming!" She yelled before ducking back into the bus. She ran about half way down and kicked out a window then climbed half way out, sitting on the window frame.

"Buffy, grab on!" Faith yelled.

Buffy smiled when she saw her girlfriend and grabbed onto her forearms as they rode it out until the bus came to a complete stop.

Buffy pulled Faith up to the roof and kissed her passionately. "We did it!"

"Yep, we survived another one." Faith said through a laugh as she kissed Buffy again laying both of them down.

Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith's back as soon as her own back hit the roof of the bus. They laid there for a moment enjoying the feeling of being close to one another.

Faith eventually pulled back so she could look Buffy in the eyes. "I thought I lost ya there for a minute." She said as she wiped some blonde hair back off of Buffy's face.

"Na, not even close." Buffy said smiling, trying to make it sound like a joke as she wiped a tear from Faith's cheek.

"You two done messing around up there?" Xander yelled from the ground.

Both slayers laughed slightly before a quick kiss. They then crawled over to the edge of the roof and peered down where they saw Xander smiling at them with Dawn on his back. The rest of the Scoobies had piled out as well.

"Looks like the hell mouth is closed for business!" Faith said as she jumped down, landing on her feet.

"There is another one in Cleveland." Giles said as he watched Buffy jump down next and land in Faith's arms. Buffy gave her a kiss on the cheek before being put down.

"I can feel all of the slayers waking up." Willow said as she shivered slightly.

"We have to find them." Dawn urged as she slid off of Xander's back.

"We will." The redhead said, smiling at the younger girl.

"What I need to find is the nearest motel. All I want to do is sleep for week, yo." Faith said as the exhaustion finally started to kick in.

"We can do anything we want now." Xander noted before getting excited. "I still say Hooters!"

"What do we do now, Buffy?" Dawn asked as she limped over to her sister who was just staring at the big hole that used be Sunnydale.

"Yeah B, we aren't the chosen two anymore." Faith said as she put her arms around Buffy's waist. "So what do you want to do now?"

Buffy looked at Faith over her shoulder and smiled weakly. "Well, you mentioned something about a week in a motel room." She said before fainting in Faith's arms.

"Buffy!" Dawn yelled in surprise as she watched her sister crumble next to her.

"Is she okay?" Xander asked running up to them.

"Let's get her back on the bus." Giles said as Faith picked her up.

"What happened?" Kennedy asked as she looked up from bandaging one of the girls. She cleared the supplies off of the next seat so Faith could put Buffy down.

"We need to get to the nearest hospital." Xander said to Robin.

"No!" Faith said in a panic. "No hospital."

Giles tried to approach her calmly. "Faith, her wounds may be too severe for her slayer healing to handle. She needs real medical attention."

Faith stood straight up. "I said no! I'm not leaving her in some fucking hospital!"

Willow finally intervened. "Okay, okay. Robin, just get us to the nearest motel. There may be a way that I can fix it."

------

Faith quickly carried Buffy off the bus once she saw Willow and Giles come around the corner with the room keys. Giles started to hand them out to the others as Willow moved ahead to unlock the door for Faith. Dawn and Xander followed behind them.

Once inside, Faith placed Buffy on the bed and lifted the shirt off the wound. "Shit, its pretty bad, Red. It went all the way through. I don't think her body can heal that much ground that fast."

"What are you going to do, Willow?" Dawn asked.

Willow ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I guess I can try putting her in a power bubble."

"A what?" Faith asked looking up at her.

"People have an energy, an aura around them. With slayers, your auras are much stronger than normal people. By putting her in the bubble it will keep germs and infections out and concentrate the aura on being her healing power. It's like a supercharger."

Faith nodded in understanding then looked back down at her girlfriend. "What if I get in the bubble with her?" She asked then looked back up at Willow. "You know, double the energy."

"It may help but I need to keep her in it for a few hours. She'll probably be unconscious the whole time. Are you sure you'll be okay?" Willow asked.

"I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to sleep for a week." Faith stated as she felt all her energy starting to drain.

"Okay." Willow said with a small smile. "Let me go get some stuff off the bus while you get comfortable."

"Do you need anything?" Xander asked as he placed a hand on Faith's shoulder.

"Na, I think I got it." Faith said. Xander nodded and turned to leave but Faith was quick to stop him. "Oh Xan, there is one thing you can do for me."

"Yeah?" He asked sincerely.

"Take Dawn with you. Keep an eye on her." She said nodding to the younger girl.

"I want to stay with Buffy." Dawn protested.

"There is nothing you can do for her now." Faith said gently. "Just go get some sleep."

Dawn was about to protest but Faith stopped her. "She would want you to get some rest and to let her heal."

"Faith's right, Dawn." Xander added.

Faith eyed the teenager for a minute, who was still pouting. "Hey Xander, can you go get Kennedy for me?"

"Sure." He said as he eyed toward Dawn, silently asking Faith if he should take her with him now, but Faith shook her head no.

Once he left, Faith walked up to Dawn. "Look, until she wakes up, I'm big sister. So please just do what I tell ya, okay. I promise it would be what Buffy would want."

"And what would that be, exactly?" Dawn asked a little snippy.

Faith let the attitude slide. "She would want you to comfort Xander." Dawn looked up at her in confusion. "He just lost Anya. He needs you to act like an adult instead of a bratty kid-sister and go hang out with him."

Dawn understood. "Okay, you just take good care of my sister."

"No problem." Faith said with a smile.

As she reached the door, Dawn turned back toward Faith. "Hey Faith."

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"I'm glad my sister has you." She said with a small smile. "And, you're not too bad at this big sister thing either."

All Faith could do was smile and nod. She was glad that Dawn was warming up to the idea of her and Buffy being together.

Giles walked in as Dawn was leaving. "How is she?" He asked.

"I don't know." Faith said looking down at her.

"You wanted to see me?" Kennedy asked poking her head in the door.

"You five by five?" Faith asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." She said as she walked in the room.

"Good, cause I'm making you head slayer around here. Buffy and I are gonna to be out of commission for a while so I need you to be the leader around here, okay?"

"No problem, Faith. I got it." Kennedy said standing up a little taller. Faith gave her a nod as she headed out the door.

"I'm going to call Angel and let him know what's going on." Giles said. Faith hadn't really heard him because she was looking down at Buffy with concern. He frowned before putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "She'll be alright, Faith. She's strong."

"Yeah." Faith said weekly looking at him and smiling in thanks.

She watched him go before she began to gently undress Buffy and placed her under the covers before she stripped down and crawled in as well. She pulled Buffy into her arms and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Everything's gonna be five by five, B. Red and I will have ya good as new in a no time." She closed her eyes and had nearly drifted off to sleep when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." She yelled.

"You ready?" Willow asked as she sat down and opened up her spell book.

"As I'll ever be." Faith said trying to give her a smile.

"Just try to relax, Faith." Willow said as she opened up a small vile and poured the powder into her hand.

"Easy for you to say." Faith grumbled.

Willow eyed her for a second before tossing the powder onto the bed and began to chant. After a few moments, pink energy began to radiate off the slayers' bodies until it completed a globe-like shape covering most of the bed.

Once the bubble closed, Faith watched as the powder began to rise and turned into a pink mist that filled the bubble. "I feel like I'm in a womb." She said swatting away little bits of pink particles.

"Its just you're aura and mystic energy in a concentrated form." Willow said trying to suppress a laugh. "The powder is a kind of mystical antibiotic. It help with the healing." She added as she closed the book and put the vile in her jacket pocket. "Okay, I'll be back later to check on you two."

"Don't rush on my account." Faith said through a yawn as she waved bye to the redhead before curling up against her girlfriend and falling asleep.

Willow just smiled and was sure that Faith had fallen asleep before she had even left the room.

----------

Faith woke to a gentle stroking motion on her cheek. She painfully opened her tired eyes to see her girlfriend smiling at her. "You're okay!"

"Yeah I am." Buffy said with a smile. Faith kissed her quickly but Buffy eventually pulled away. "I just have one question for you."

"Shoot." Faith said as she began to kiss down Buffy's neck.

"What the hell is this thing?" Buffy asked as she waived her hand around. She noticed the trail of pink waives coming off of her hands movements. "It's like those acid trips you always hear about."

Faith laughed as she pulled away to look at her beautiful girlfriend again. "Its what helped you heal. You got hurt wicked bad."

Buffy nodded. "I remember, kind of. I was running on adrenaline for the most part."

"You and me both." Faith added. "Do you remember fainting?"

Buffy's eyes wandered for a moment as if she was searching for the memory and then it hit her. "Oh my God, Sunnydale, its gone. And Spike, he's…"

"It's okay, B. He made his own choice."

"I know." She said sadly. "Was I really hurt that bad?"

Faith shrugged. "I guess. I'm no MD, but I know that a blade through gut is not healthy. You were out for a long time and you were losing a lot of blood." Faith took a deep breath before she continued. "I was really scared, B."

"Why didn't you take me to a hospital?" Buffy asked.

"Because I was more scared of you being in one of those. I know what its like and I hated it. I could never leave you there and I hoped that Willow could magically fix you."

"Hence the bubble thing?" Buffy asked pointing up.

"Hence the bubble thing." Faith confirmed.

Buffy sighed and thought about what Faith had told her for moment. Once again she almost died. It terrified her how close she had come because right now she had all the reason in the world to want to live. She lunged forward slightly and began attacking Faith with kisses.

The brunette was caught off guard. "Whoa, B. Its okay, save your strength. I'm not going anywhere."

"No Faith, please. I need to know that I'm alive and that we're okay." Buffy pleaded.

Faith grabbed Buffy's left hand with her left. Their rings set off a spark of mystic energy where they touched. "We're here, B. We made it."

"Then make love to me." Buffy whispered.

"I can do that." Faith answered with a grin as she rolled Buffy onto her back and began to kiss her passionately. They continued to kiss for a few moments before Buffy winced in pain and grabbed her side. Faith immediately begin to move off of her. "Oh B, I'm so sorry."

"No, don't be." Buffy said as she tried to stop Faith from moving, but to no avail.

"Here, just roll over on your good side." Faith instructed. Once the blonde was laying on the left side of her body, Faith laid down behind her. Buffy looked at her over her right shoulder. "Don't worry B, I gotcha." The brunette said with a smile as she kissed the blonde's shoulder.

Faith brought Buffy's right leg up over her own hip so her right hand could have more access to where it desperately wanted to be. She put her left arm under Buffy's neck and engulfed the girl in her strong embrace.

Buffy titled her head back to capture her girlfriend's lips and moaned when Faith entered her with two fingers. Faith eventually broke the kiss to suck on Buffy's neck and pumped her hand in and out. Buffy moaned as Faith's left hand squeezed her breast. She reached back to tangle her right hand in long brunette locks.

When Faith's skilled fingers found the spot exactly where Buffy wanted them to be, the older slayer released the hold on her hair and reached down to grab her butt, singling her to stay right at that spot. Faith moaned as she felt Buffy's nails dig into her sensitive skin.

"Please don't stop, Faith." Buffy moaned.

"I won't B. I gotcha. Just let go." Faith panted.

-------

Twenty minutes later Giles and Willow were still waiting outside for the noise to finally die down.

"Think its safe to go in yet?" Willow asked.

Before Giles can answer they hear another moan. He coughed then took his glasses off to clean them. "Maybe we should tell them in the morning."

"But I think they would want to know that Angel found the ultimate of slayer prophecies." Willow suggested.

They heard another moan. "Something tells me that right now that won't care." Giles said as tried not to blush.

Willow was about to object when continuous moaning began as well as the sound of the headboard hitting the wall. "Um, yeah." She said sheepishly in agreement as they turned to walk away.

TBC……..

14


End file.
